This past April, 257 amateur football players were able to earn the prestigious honor of being selected in the NFL Draft. Every year, this event is a period of tremendous optimism. Players are witnessing their dreams come true, while fans can dream about those players becoming long-term contributors for their favorite team.
Nevertheless, there were more than 257 players who were hoping to be selected during the 2024 NFL Draft. 321 players were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine alone, and that’s not including omissions that went on to make an impression on NFL teams in a different way (pro days, game performance). Naturally, this means that plenty of talented players are going to have the odds stacked against them even further.
This is the reality of being an undrafted free agent, which is where Pittsburgh Steelers nickel corner Beanie Bishop Jr. found himself after not being one of the 257 players drafted in April.
As a six-year college player who attended three different universities and is listed at just 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds, it is easy to see NFL teams may have overlooked Bishop as a prospect—he didn’t even receive an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine. Yet, it is also easy to see why overlooking him was destined to be faulty. This was a player who led the nation in passes defended and pass breakups during his final season, ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at his pro day, and had a long track record impacting the game on special teams. Athleticism, ball skills, and special teams contributions? Sign me up for that!
That’s precisely what the Steelers likely had in their mind when they signed Bishop as an undrafted free agent. After all, per Bishop in a tremendous interview with our own Justin Melo this past April, they conducted a pre-draft 30 visit with him. General manager Omar Khan was extremely enthusiastic about bringing Bishop aboard:
Omar enthusiastically included undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop in nickel CB competition: “I can’t tell you how excited we were to sign him. We had him in here for a visit. We talked about our defense and how he would fit in. I think he’s gonna have a great opportunity to help us.”
— Mike Prisuta (@DVEMike) May 1, 2024
Hence, why it should not have been a surprise for Bishop to be named as the team’s starting nickel corner in their first preseason depth chart, a role he has yet to relinquish. His involvement with the team is only growing.
Of course, there is a reason for Pittsburgh’s increased faith in Bishop. Over the past two weeks, he has intercepted three passes and accomplished enough this month to earn the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month award for October. In total, his passer rating allowed (59) ranks 19th-best among all defensive players, and ninth-best when eliminating full-time linebackers and safeties from that list. Those three interceptions are tied for a team lead and also place him tied for fifth in the entire NFL, a major reason why the Steelers are allowing the second-fewest points per game this year. Remember, this is a player who was not drafted!
The Steelers now face a potential conundrum with nickel corner Cameron Sutton set to return from an eight-game suspension, but it would be a notable surprise for Bishop to simply lose his starting job when the team returns from its Week 9 bye. As defensive coordinator Terryl Austin pointed out in a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Bishop has been contributing in more ways than just the interceptions.
“He’s been a really good tackler in terms of things thrown in front of him,” Austin said. “The thing where most young guys struggle is with pass coverage — different things that happen, and people are trying to attack him. I think he’s starting to respond to that. It’s a good thing when guys see things, and they’re able to fix it, and it doesn’t continue to happen.”
It is usually a great rule of thumb to not fix what is not broken to begin with, and this would qualify as a clear example. Bishop is a rookie who is only continuing to perform better, and the Steelers have parlayed their tremendous defensive performance into a 6-2 start. The team could face extra pressure with a full slate of divisional matchups still ahead, but you could not ask anything more from Bishop (or any nickel corner) than what they have gotten from him thus far.
Defensive Rookie of the Month? One of the top performers for one of the best defenses in the NFL? That sounds like a “real job” to me!
“I had a teacher that once told me, when I told her I wanted to be a professional football player, ‘Get a real job - that’s not possible.’”
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 10, 2024
-Steelers rookie DB Beanie Bishop pic.twitter.com/op2ohps4jH
At this point, I would recommend counting out Bishop at your own peril. For him, the odds are always in his favor.
