Did the Steelers get a steal in the 7th round with Cory Trice?

Cory Trice was a draft sleeper for a lot of analysts and mock drafters. Most expected him to go in the middle rounds and thought he would be a great pick there. For Trice to fall to the Steelers in the 7th round, either the rest of the NFL messed up, or the outsiders did.

Cory Trice (No. 23) is the cornerback to the bottom of the screen.

Cory Trice rightly reminds a lot of people of Joey Porter Jr., he is long and he is at his best in press coverage. Here he gets hands on the receiver right off the bat, slowing his release, then lets go of the receiver to avoid drawing a penalty before getting one of his long arms in to break up the pass.

Here’s a better angle of the breakup.

Look at how long Trice’s arms are, look at the timing of the breakup. From the jam on the release to the well-timed breakup at the end, this is a phenomenal play.

Cory Trice (No. 23) is the cornerback farthest to the top of the screen.

Trice evades the blocks and explodes into the backfield for a tackle for a loss. Trice shows this aggressiveness a good bit on these plays that come to his side.

Cory Trice (No. 23) is the cornerback farthest to the bottom of the screen.

The receiver comes to block Trice, but Trice easily avoids the block and makes another good open field tackle for a loss.

Cory Trice (No. 23) is the cornerback farthest to the top of the screen.

I really like this play. Watch #44 in the slot for Penn State. He comes to block Cory Trice, but gets knocked backwards at first contact. Notice how Trice shrinks the lane for the receiver while sealing him inside.

Cory Trice is consistently strong against runs and short passes to his side, his aggressive and physical play work well on those plays.

Cory Trice (No. 23) is the cornerback farthest to the bottom of the screen.

Here’s another play where Trice uses his length and physicality to destroy a route. You can see the quarterback for Penn State is trying to hit Trice’s man, but Trice is all over the route and there’s nothing there. By the time he comes off the route the pressure is on him and he throws the ball away.

Cory Trice (No. 23) is the cornerback farthest to the bottom of the screen.

His physicality works well on routes farther downfield as well. Trice drives his man into the sideline, and when the pass is made, he is able to reach back and get a hand on the ball.

Cory Trice (No. 23) is the cornerback farthest to the bottom of the screen.

This one is easier to see the breakup. One thing that stands out to me is he is physically affecting the route, but you can see at the catch point he doesn’t rely on having hands on the receiver throughout the route. He isn’t as “grabby” as Joey Porter Jr., in my opinion he is just as physical defending the receiver’s route as the Steelers second round pick, but does it cleaner, and I think that should help him avoid penalties if he gets on the field in the NFL.

It isn’t just physicality on these short routes either.

Cory Trice (No. 23) is the cornerback farthest to the top of the screen.

This is one of Trice’s interceptions from the 2019 season. Trice played safety in High School and early on in college, and he shows the awareness in zone to switch priorities and make plays on the ball. This 2019 play is also a nice transition into the downside of the Cory Trice selection.

2019 Trice broke out and ended up starting 5 games. The next season was the 2020 Covid-19 season and Trice only got to play 6 games, and like many players in that chaotic season, he didn’t stand out and wasn’t able to build on his 2019 growth.

Then in 2021 Trice started the first two games before tearing his ACL and missing the rest of the season. A big problem with Cory Trice’s development is a two-year span where he played 8 games. And his 2022 season he was still recovering and was not playing at 100%. He still had good plays, and good games like the season opener against Penn State, but two weeks later in a loss to Syracuse, his film left a lot to be desired.

Cory Trice (No. 23) is the cornerback farthest to the bottom of the screen.

Cory Trice looks tentative and slow here, and very different from the tackles shown above against Penn State and Indiana.

Cory Trice (No. 23) is the cornerback farthest to the top of the screen.

On this play Trice isn’t targeted, but he completely fails to impact the play at all, getting blocked and turned around and fails to find the ball.

Cory Trice (No. 23) is the cornerback farthest to the bottom of the screen before the motion.

Here Trice coming in motion can’t engage physically right off the line, and he doesn’t get to the receiver.

Cory Trice (No. 23) is the cornerback to the top of the screen.

This could be injury related, or just part of being a 6’3” 200 lb. cornerback. Trice doesn’t have the ability to stop on a dime and get back to the receiver here.

Of the four games I watched from the 2022 season, two of them stood out more than the others. Trice was fantastic in the season opener against Penn State and a big part of why that game was so close. But two weeks later Trice stood out for the opposite reason and his team lost to Syracuse.

I’d like to think that the Penn State game, when Trice wasn’t at all 100% is more in line with his talent, and that even better play is ahead of him. I’d like to think that his injury was bothering him more against Syracuse and that’s why he didn’t look as good. The problem is the film we have on Trice before the injury is either three years old, from the chaotic 2020 Covid season, or his two starts in 2021. None of that film is as good as his film against Penn State.

The other issue with Trice, and the one that likely caused his fall to the 241st pick is the ACL injury stacked on top of other leg injuries he has had. If Cory Trice is much more the player we saw against Penn State, and his injury issues aren’t a problem going forward, Cory Trice could be 2023’s version of Tariq Woolen. I don’t say that lightly either, his best film I’d rate Trice equal to, or even a bit above Joey Porter Jr. It’s just that Porter Jr. has a lot of great film, while Cory Trice has incredibly inconsistent film and a concerning injury history.

For a seventh round pick? I think Trice is an incredible selection to make. He could end up off the team partway during training camp, he could end up moving back to safety, he could end up another James Pierre and mostly play special teams, but there is a slim chance the Steelers drafted two future starters at cornerback in the same draft.