In his press conference before training camp today (via the team’s YouTube channel), Mike Tomlin addressed the specialization of defensive packages in regards to defensive backs playing the slot position.
“Arthur Maulet and Karl Joseph were working as run-down nickels, if you will. Guys like Cam Sutton and Tre Norwood are pass-down subpackage players. And so, there’s big-time specialization. There are big nickel packages, Killebrew plays in big nickel versus two-tight end personnel groups. It’s just specialization, it’s a component or evolution of the game. If something is going on on one side of the ball, it’s reasonable to expect there’s a mirror development on the other side of the ball,” Tomlin said.