Why Cortez Allen Is Pittsburgh Steelers' Best Bet at Cornerback

2014 wasn't the best year for Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen.

Scratch that—2014 was supposed to be a great year for Cortez Allen, and it started off well for the veteran. He was promoted to starting outside cornerback and given a four-year, $24.6 million contract extension just before the start of the regular season, a reward for what he's already accomplished for his team and what they expected from him in the future.

But things did not go as planned. Allen started for the first seven games but was benched in Week 8 in favor of Brice McCain. He appeared sparingly as the team's slot cornerback after that but was permanently sidelined because his poor play continued, with Antwon Blake moving into the slot.

Ultimately, Allen totaled 41 combined tackles and two interceptions with 11 passes defensed. But he also gave up 34 receptions on 57 targets for 552 yards and five touchdowns, with opposing quarterbacks posting a 106.8 passer rating when throwing in his direction. As a result, Pro Football Focus ranked Allen 103rd out of 108 cornerbacks for 2014.

Comb. T	PD	INT	Tgts.	Rec. Allow	Rec.%	Yds.	YAC	TD Allow	QB Rat.
41	11	2	57	34	59.6%	552	107	5	106.8

But Allen is poised for a bounce-back year, even if the Steelers did select two cornerbacks in this year's draft—Senquez Golson in Round 2 and Doran Grant in Round 4. Simply put, Allen has the experience edge over the rookies. Rookie cornerbacks are often liabilities—there is a steep learning curve at the position, only rivaled by wide receiver. The Steelers need Allen, and Allen is ready to prove he's worth his salary.

Allen attributed his poor play last year to losing grasp of the fundamentals of the position. He has spent extensive time during the offseason working with Steelers defensive backs coach Carnell Lake "to [get] back to the basics of football as far as technique and stuff," as Allen worded it when he spoke with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette. And he's confident that he will be able to do it.

The question is where Allen will play this year. Blake has played some outside cornerback during the team's OTAs, with William Gay moving inside to the slot. If Blake outperforms Allen on the outside through this summer's training camp, working in the slot may be Allen's best chance to have a major on-field impact during the regular season.

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

Still, that would be a significant role for Allen, because, as Steelers Depot's Alex Kozora points out, the Steelers defense will be operating out of a nickel package at least 50 percent of the time this year. With a slot cornerback on the field that often, the Steelers would be better off with Allen's experience trumping the rookies' potential. 

NFL players experience slumps all the time. Some last a week, some a month and some, like Allen's, take hold of an entire season. Not often, though, do players have a chance at redemption in a league where careers end prematurely as a rule.

But, thanks to Allen's large contract, a dearth of experience at cornerback and his commitment to improving as a player, Allen has a chance to regain the job that was once his. And for the Steelers' sake, they'd be smart to give him his starting job back if he truly has succeeded at improving.