Home Player Spotlight What do the Steelers do with Brandon Boykin after 2015?

What do the Steelers do with Brandon Boykin after 2015?

by Steelbydesign

Like many Steelers fans, I was pretty excited when I heard over the weekend that they made a move to grab one of the best slot cornerbacks in the NFL in Brandon Boykin, for a conditional 5th round pick.

Not only is Boykin talented, but he’s only 25 years old and likely just entering his prime playing years.

Initially I thought, home-run. Of course the Steelers would give up a pick in the 4th or 5th round for a guy that instantly may be the most talented cornerback on the roster.

However, the fact that Boykin is in the final year of his rookie contract does give me some pause, and make me wonder what the Steelers’ plan is long term. Using something like a 4th or 5th rounder for a one year rental? Probably still worth it, but maybe not the steal that I originally thought it was.

The most cost effective move would be to see if Boykin would sign an extension right now. That seems unlikely though. The Steelers will probably want to see how Boykin fares in their system before making a long-term commitment… and Boykin will probably want to play out his contract year to possibly cash in on the open market.

Looking at the numbers, Denver Bronco’s cornerback Chris Harris Jr. was the only cornerback to hold Quarterbacks to a lower passer rating, while playing primarily in the slot over the past 2 season.

Harris Jr. signed a 5 year, 42.5 million dollar extension this off-season. One difference between the two is that Harris has proven he can also move outside and handle larger receivers.

Boykin was pretty vocal in Philadelphia about his frustration in not being a starter (though I would argue a #3 CB in today’s NFL is a starter), and also with the fact that the Eagles didn’t use him on the outside.

It appears early in camp that the Steelers will grant the new cornerback’s wishes, and give him every opportunity to win a starting spot, playing on the outside.

If he does prove that he can be as effective covering top receivers as well as he plays the slot, then I think he may very well price himself out of the Steelers’ budget.

Who knows though. If the Steelers lock up Kelvin Beachum this off-season, I don’t necessarily any other free agents in 2016 that are “must-sign” types of guys. Ramon Foster, William Gay, and Steve McLendon would be the toughest cuts, and David DeCastro will likely get a nice payday then.

I’ll admit that I’m not the most knowledgeable when it comes to contracts, but maybe the Steelers could sign him with cap savings from cutting Cortez Allen if he continues to struggle in 2015.

There’s a lot of different variables that go into a decision with his contract after this season, but hopefully Boykins’ play in 2015 forces the Steelers into a tough decision.

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3 comments

Ben Anderson August 4, 2015 - 7:25 pm

Ok, this is long. Hopefully it will enhance and not detract from the piece.

I think Boykin is the #3 CB and will play a lot, but it will be inside, not his preferred outside position. Now, I don’t know the player well. He could be stronger than I think and be able to play outside. He’s a little shorter than Ronde Barber, but looks to be more heavily muscled at about the same weight. Barber was the perfect Cover-2 CB/S. Maybe Boykin is too. We’ll see. Today I do not view him as a starter and I also do not think the Steelers would have given up much for him, if anything, had Golson been healthy.

I’m also not entirely sold on Boykin being a good fit. He seems to like to run his mouth, talked to the media about how much better he is than his role within the system in Philly. I don’t know that he’s going to fit into the team first concept in Pittsburgh. Steelers fans are high fiving each other without thinking through why Philly was willing to trade this guy for a conditional 4 (#4 if he plays 60% of the defensive snaps, #5 if not). Pittsburgh just gave up a likely #4 for a 1 year rent-a-player. I don’t think we won this trade. I think it was pretty even. If he becomes a good fit and if he signs another contract in Pittsburgh, THEN it becomes a good deal.

One bonus and really the reason that I think this was an even trade; Boykin is a good returner. Maybe we can get him back there as the regular punt man and insert AB when they need a “special” return.

I hope Tomlin sits him down and lets him know that taking shots at former coaches and drawing attention to yourself is something that only pro bowlers and player reps, like Ryan Clark, can do and that doing so will likely burn bridges somewhere regardless. Really childish behavior between the parting shot and lobbying for playing time via the Philadelphia media. Color me unimpressed.

Boykin says he didn’t call Chip Kelly a racist. He said that Kelly doesn’t “feel comfortable” around black men and sometimes ignores them when walking down a hall, rather than saying hello or simply acknowledging them. Setting aside that this is about the 6th time a player or former player has said this and the obvious perception problem that Kelly is fighting, aren’t we splitting hairs over the question of racist or uncomfortable here?

I took no issue with Boykin calling Kelly racist, my objection is to his public airing of dirty laundry. You’re happy to be out of Philly? Great, we get it. Be happy about it and project that. We don’t need a-holes who project whatever negativity they happen to feel in a given moment to do so publicly. It creates distraction. The players should be concentrating on assimilating the new D and on playing next to each other, not answering questions about old coaches or their new teammate’s sensitivity to race issues.

Tomlin let things go too long with Blount, that relationship ended very badly and may have cost the Steelers a playoff win. I also keep hearing that Tomlin getting buddy-buddy with the players has lost him some credibility, but that Tomlin is insistent on autonomy when dealing with players, which makes sense. He’s out there without a net though. Better to address things like this up front.

Golson will end up on Reserve/PUP. That means that the Steelers have to keep him out of practice for at least 6 weeks, can then practice him for 3 weeks and then decide if he goes on IR or the 53 man roster. However, they can wait as long as week 9 before they start practicing him. So he may be around and not count on the 53 through week 12. Or (best case) he bounces back and is a scout team player for the year, after week 6 sometime, developing his game for 2016, but chances are he’s done as far as a 2015 contribution to the team goes.

copanut August 4, 2015 - 7:59 pm

You make good points, however as regards Boykin running his mouth perhaps that’s not entirely bad. In general, a player is best seen and not heard, but the secondary has been a punching bag for a couple of years and can use a little swag. There is already some indication that Boykin has ignited (in a positive way) his colleagues during practice. None of that matters if it doesn’t translate to the field or if it is disruptive to team dynamics, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Regarding the potential of Boykin’s value going high if his production is high esp. at the outside, I say that’s a good problem to have. I disagree with those who say the Steelers would not be able to afford it. It’s not like they are stocked with superstars in the secondary. Surely they can afford one top notch contract for the entire group now that Polamalu is gone and especially if Allen does not pan out and with a young cast of relatively inexpensive guys waiting in the wings. But of course Boykin will have to earn it.

Ben Anderson August 4, 2015 - 8:17 pm

Gonna miss hearing this song before and during games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se8ABHcq8g4

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