The Pittsburgh Steelers made a big secondary swing Monday by reportedly signing Tampa Bay Buccaneers CB Jamel Dean to a three-year, $36.75 million contract hours after the legal tampering began. Clearly, a starting-level contract and addition who should play a key role in Pittsburgh\u2019s 2026 defensive outcome.<\/p>\n
So who are the Steelers getting in Dean? Is this the right move? As our Josh Carney did examining WR Michael Pittman Jr.,<\/a> let\u2019s break down the good, bad, and everything else of Dean\u2019s game.<\/p>\n Run Defense\/Tackling<\/p>\n A big corner at 6-1, 206 pounds coming out of Auburn for the 2019 NFL Draft, Dean\u2019s size helps him. As does his aggression. With just seven career tackles for loss, he\u2019s not terribly active behind the line of scrimmage, but Dean holds his own.<\/p>\n He has a downhill mentality and the ability to beat receiver blocks. Watch him attack this block and shed the receiver to the bottom of the screen. Keeps the ball inside to his help. This is technically a pass but a run game extension, getting the ball to RB Bijan Robinson in space.<\/p>\n Dean is No. 35 in all these clips.<\/p>\n Last season, Dean made 14 tackles (nine solo) against the run across 14 games. Similar numbers to Joey Porter Jr.\u2019s 15 total tackles and seven solo stops, also in 14 games. Dean active in the run fit and will put his face in the fan, making this tackle on RB Christian McCaffrey even if it still resulted in a positive run for San Francisco.<\/p>\n He\u2019s entering the picture from the right side below.<\/p>\n Couple more examples of Dean coming down off the edge.<\/p>\n As a tackler in coverage, Dean delivers power and plays with an edge. Even if the form isn\u2019t sound, you love the attitude of throwing the receiver down at the end in the first clip. In the second, his size and body blow makes sure the receiver isn\u2019t picking up any additional YAC. Dean played big against WR Drake London.<\/p>\n I\u2019m sure Pittsburgh saw that and imagined how he\u2019d play against Tee Higgins twice a year.<\/p>\n Coverage<\/p>\n Through and through, Dean is a press corner. He\u2019s well over six-foot, 200 pounds and plays every bit to that skillset. Aggressive and hands-on, Dean\u2019s best reps come disrupting and jamming routes before they begin. At the line, he can take on big receivers like Carolina\u2019s Tetairoa McMillan and Atlanta\u2019s Drake London. Clips against both.<\/p>\n Bottom of the screen against Atlanta, top of the screen versus Carolina.<\/p>\n Dean can bump and run downfield and beats up on smaller receivers. That\u2019s where he shines. He\u2019s the right cornerback in all these clips.<\/p>\n Dean also shows a good football IQ and understanding of down and distance. Where the sticks are and the route concept the offense is trying to run to convert. He\u2019s a good communicator who adjusts when motions create stacks, getting depth below so both cornerbacks aren\u2019t on the same level and prone to getting picked\/rubbed on the goal line.<\/p>\n Top of the screen here.<\/p>\n In zone, Dean can match and read the quarterback\u2019s eyes. In Cover 2 here, he sinks and gets depth while reading the quarterback. Squeezing the vertical route behind, he finds the ball, times his jump, and high points it with his size and length. Interception.<\/p>\n Top of the screen.<\/p>\n But Dean is a linear athlete much more comfortable pressing up early in the route. He\u2019s tight-hipped, something that\u2019s been evident since his poor short shuttle\/three-cone times<\/a> coming out of Auburn. Short-area movements and change of direction is where he gets exposed. Watch him fall as he tries to gather and change directions covering the first route. In the second, he loses the receiver at the top of the route.<\/p>\n When Dean can\u2019t play physical and top down, he gets in trouble. Bottom of the screen in both clips.<\/p>\n He\u2019s an aggressive corner who can be late to open his hips in off coverage where he looks far less comfortable. That gets him prone to being beat deep.<\/p>\n Couple examples. In the third clip, he opens up in time but can\u2019t recover to get back in-phase with McMillian, who beats him for the only touchdown PFF charged him for all year. It was Cover 0 so Dean had no help but he lost this island rep.<\/p>\n Top of the screen in the first two, bottom against Carolina.<\/p>\n Usage<\/p>\n In 2025, Dean logged 661 total defensive snaps. Of those, 586 came as an outside corner. All but a single snap of those came on the right side. With the exception of his rookie year where he had a 50\/50 split, he\u2019s been on the right side the majority of the time. In total, here\u2019s his career left\/right outside corner breakdown.<\/p>\n Left Corner: 489 Meaning, nearly 90 percent of his career outside corner snaps have come on the right side. Joey Porter Jr. has been a versatile outside corner throughout his Steelers\u2019 career, but it seems much more likely Pittsburgh will play sides with Porter on the left and Dean on the right in 2026.<\/p>\n Dean occasionally rotated to safety in post-snap coverage disguises, though he didn\u2019t look comfortable with his angles there. Tampa Bay blitzed him a handful of times and Dean proved effective with a sack\/forced fumble against Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers. Really nice play here.<\/p>\n Health hasn\u2019t been Dean\u2019s friend. In seven years, he\u2019s never played a full season. Over the past three, he\u2019s missed a combined 12 games. Turning 30 in October, there\u2019s concern his injuries will only increase and worsen.<\/p>\n Final Thoughts<\/p>\n There\u2019s no question about the type of player Pittsburgh\u2019s wanted at corner pretty much since Omar Khan became general manager. Big and physical\/long cornerbacks who can challenge tall receivers. Dean is more built and physical than Porter but both use their size well to squeeze throwing windows. Dean likes to get hands on and disrupt off the line whereas Porter likes to punch and ride receivers through the route. Porter is more smooth and fluid while Dean is scrappy.<\/p>\n
Right Corner: 4,183<\/p>\n