He wasn’t in their plans to start the season—really, he wasn’t even on the roster a week prior—but second-year cornerback Ross Cockrell has become an integral part of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense since assuming the nickel back role in the second game of the season.
Cockrell has logged 337 snaps in the past seven games, largely on an upward trajectory when it comes to usage, where he has averaged roughly between 65-70 percent of the team’s snaps since then—which goes to show how much the Steelers are using the nickel under Keith Butler this year, joining the majority of the rest of the league.