Rookie Watch: Steelers DB Cory Trice Is Possible Late Round Steal

It Will Be Trice As Nice If Late Round DB Delievers

Pittsburgh - The Pittsburgh Steelers used the 241st overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to select Cory Trice, the 19th-ranked defensive back on the NFL Draft Bible Big Board. Trice heard his name called on day three of the draft after being selected in the seventh round.

While it’s nearly impossible to single out which players will emerge throughout this process, one thing is for sure both Trice and fellow rookie teammate Joey Porter Jr. are long-lean defenders who are bonding quickly.

Trice wears No. 27, and Porter Jr. adorns No. 24. The pair seem almost inseparable on the field and while they are walking off it. If you see No. 27, then you see No. 24. Strikingly similar in size and stature, it's hard not to notice.

“He is definitely a great guy,” Trice of Porter Jr. “We continue to learn from each other and continue to try to make each other better. Keep perfecting our craft. We keep chopping it up off the field and try to make each other better.”

Porter Jr. was the first pick in the second round, while only 18 picks remained in the entire draft when Trice was eventually drafted by Pittsburgh. He’ll face a lot more scrutiny to make the final roster, but after two days of walk-throughs, he surely passes the eyeball test.

A former safety at Purdue, Trice switched to defensive back after time roaming the secondary throughout 2019-20. Standing at 6-foot-3 and 206-pounds with 4.4 speed, it was easy to see why the Boilermakers viewed him as one of their last lines of defense.

Despite his gifted athleticism and coveted size, his injuries played a big deterrent in his draft stock which saw him plummet to nearly the end of the seventh round. That doesn’t suit the former Hopkinsville, Kentucky native well.

“For sure, I definitely got a chip on my shoulder,” Trice told a swarm of media after his second day of rookie camp. “I’ve come here ready to prove myself.”

Trice played in 34 games as a Boilermaker, starting 24 of them. He scored two touchdowns over his career with pick-sixes against Maryland (2019) and Indiana (2022). A physical press corner, Trice accumulated five interceptions to go along with 20 pass breakups and 105 tackles during his collegiate career.

Trice has only been able to display one year of film playing defensive back. In 2021 he appeared in only two of the Boilermakers' 13 games. This past season he was able to stay on the field, and the only game he missed was when he opted out of the Citrus Bowl to concentrate on preparing for the NFL Draft.

“I really had to put it behind me,” Trice replied while dealing with setbacks due to injury. When I get on the field, they don’t care about my injuries. We just move past it.”

One thing that is hard to move past is seeing Trice and Porter Jr. doing positional work. They are massive and look so imposing in their stances, and yet they’re not even in helmets and shoulder pads at this point. Two physical young defensive backs would be a luxury the Steelers' defense hasn’t had in a long time.

The Steelers' 10 days of OTA activity will run from May 23rd to June 8th. These ten practices will aid in gauging where Trice is heading into mandatory minicamp between June 13th and the 15th. Pittsburgh is crossing its fingers that Trice can prove to them he is roster worthy when the final cuts arrive late this summer.

“Really, all my life, I’ve had to prove myself,” Trice said. “So, it’s just one of those things I got to prove myself once again. I don’t mind doing it.”

The audience of sideline reporters won’t mind watching him try to achieve that status in the ensuing months ahead.