The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t exactly have the greatest track record when it come to drafting defensive backs under head coach Mike Tomlin. Cameron Sutton was the first defensive back the team had signed to a second contract since Cortez Allen, the only other defensive back drafted by Tomlin—in addition to William Gay—to do so. And Gay left first before coming back.
They seemed to find an alternative solution by acquiring talent elsewhere. They signed Joe Haden as a street free agent in August of 2017 because they had money burning a hole in their pocket. Mike Hilton emerged as a diamond in the rough in the meantime.