An in-Depth Look at the Steelers' Most Intriguing Prospect, Gerod Holliman

Of all of the selections the Pittsburgh Steelers made in the 2015 NFL draft, the selection of Louisville safety Gerod Holliman is easily the most interesting. After being a darling of the draft world for much of the season, Holliman found himself still on the board when Pittsburgh made their seventh-round selection.

First off, let’s talk about what Holliman was during the season. He finished his junior season with 14 interceptions to lead the nation. This is a staggering number that included four games where he had multiple interceptions. Some of the best defensive backs in the country don’t have a multiple-interception game in their entire career.

To recognize the tremendous season Holliman had, he was awarded the Jim Thorpe Award. This is to recognize the top defensive back in all of college football. Here is a list of the past winners back to 1997: 

• 2014 Gerod Holliman
• 2013 Darqueze Dennard
  
• 2012 Johnthan Banks
• 2011 Morris Claiborne
• 2010 Patrick Peterson
• 2009 Eric Berry
• 2008 Malcolm Jenkins
• 2007 Antoine Cason
• 2006 Aaron Ross
• 2005 Michael Huff
• 2004 Carlos Rogers
• 2003 Derrick Strait
• 2002 Terence Newman
• 2001 Roy Williams
• 2000 Jamar Fletcher
• 1999 Tyrone Carter
• 1998 Antoine Winfield
• 1997 Charles Woodson 

Pretty rarefied air for Holliman to be in such a group. He was also named a consensus first-team All-American. These aren’t accolades that are given out without pretty good cause. 

Nevertheless, all of the college awards and recognition are no guarantee of success in the NFL. However, even outside of this, draft experts also lauded Holliman as a top prospect. Don’t believe me? Read on.

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Bleacher Report’s own Matt Miller called Holliman “clearly a round-one prospect” in November, with one game to play. Miller even compared Holliman to Deion Sanders and Ed Reed in his analysis. Fellow analyst Michael Felder just heaped praise on Holliman in the same video as he broke down some of his game-changing interceptions from the 2014 season.

Another example comes from Greg Gabriel of the National Football Post. In his breakdown of Holliman, he did a nice job addressing his complete game. He also notes that “Holliman’s ball skills can get him drafted high” and “Holliman is best in zone, where he consistently gets and keeps good position. He has an excellent feel for zone coverage and the passing game.”

In fairness, Gabriel did question Holliman’s physicality and felt like he should return to school to work on that.

And finally, back in January, NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah plugged Holliman into the first round of his first mock draft of the season. Ironically, he had Holliman going to the Steelers with that pick. Jeremiah referred to him as a “ball magnet” and felt like the Steelers might go after the Louisville star early.

Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press

It’s important to keep in mind that when this mock draft came out, all of Louisville’s games had been played. There were no performances the following week to knock Holliman down 217 picks.

I don’t point any of these examples out to call out any of these writers. Quite the contrary. I know them all by their work, and they are tremendous at their jobs. This is more to illustrate that these experts saw the potential in Holliman based on intense film study. So regardless of where he ended up in the draft, that analysis has to carry some weight. 

There is little denying Holliman’s ability to play zone as a free safety and force turnovers. It is a valid criticism that he only had one season of success, but this isn’t unique among prospects. Many times a player will parlay a big season into an elevated draft status.

However, it appears the league was unable to overlook the fact that Holliman plays soft, especially against the run. Even his most vehement supporters cannot defend the fact that it shows up on film, that he will actually duck his head and dive at a ball-carrier in order to avoid having to make a play. I’m sure that a large part of the tumble for all the experts above had to do in part with a closer review of this aspect of his game. 

Garry Jones/Associated Press

Nevertheless, what makes Holliman intriguing is that he’s part of the Steelers now and looks to be in a situation where he can succeed. If you have a deep safety who has impressive instincts and fluidity in zone coverage, you have to let them play it.

That means the front seven (in this case eight) have run responsibility and recognize that the last line of defense cannot be accounted for.

Yet at the same time, that same defensive front understands that if it can create a little pressure and throw off a bit of timing, then a player like Holliman, who can undercut any route, will make a play on the football. Plus the value, as Bleacher Report's Ian Wharton pointed out, for this type of potential is tremendous.

"

Good pick for the Steelers. Gerod Holliman has aggressiveness that could make him great, or a washout. Round 7 is insane value

— Ian Wharton (@NFLFilmStudy) May 2, 2015"

If there was an ideal situation for Holliman to come to, the Steelers might be it. He is going to have the opportunity to be coached up by one of the most physical safeties in the history of the franchise, Carnell Lake. Lake is currently the Pittsburgh defensive backs coach, and if you wonder what he brings to the table, just check out this video.

Just as the Steelers drafted Mississippi cornerback Senquez Golson in the second round because of his innate ability to create turnovers, the same can be said for Holliman. With the retirement of Troy Polamalu, things are lined up for this seventh-round pick to stick with the final roster and eventually make his way into the lineup.

Best-case scenario for Holliman is in a role similar to how the Steelers used Shamarko Thomas as a rookie. Allow him to roam in a short/intermediate zone cornerback role, and let those fluid hips, anticipation and hands work in conjunction with improved pressure to create turnovers. 

Overall, the pick of Holliman is almost zero risk and all reward. One of the most decorated defensive players in the country in 2014 lasts to the seventh round and goes to a team that can use him desperately. Sounds like a recipe for success to me.