- Pittsburgh Steelers CB William Gay has been working as the team’s starting slot corner in OTAs.
- Gay finished the 2016 campaign with the highest PFF grade of his 10-year career. He allowed 0.61 yards per slot coverage snap, the sixth-lowest mark in the league. He also allowed the second-fewest yards from the slot among cornerbacks who payed 270 or more slot corner snaps. Gay was the 15th-highest-graded cornerback last season, with an overall grade of 83.7. He allowed a passer rating of 84.4 when targeted from the slot, ranking him fourth among corners who played at least 270 slot corner snaps. The single interception he recorded in 2016 came from lining up inside.
- As well as his 372 inside snaps, Gay accumulated 125 snaps at outside cornerback, but certainly performed better when lined up against the slot. When lined up on the outside he allowed seven receptions from nine targets for 109 yards, at 0.87 yards per coverage snap and allowed a passer rating of 117.1.
- Last year, third-year pro Senquez Golsonstarted camp at slot corner, before going down with a foot injury that led to him spending his second straight season on IR. The former Ole Miss star will run the second team in 2017, and compete with Gay for the starting role. He’s yet to play a down in the NFL, but the Steelers will hope he returns to being the player that made himself known in the SEC, finishing his career at Ole Miss with 16 interceptions and 130 tackles. In 2014, he led the SEC in interceptions and allowed the second-lowest passer rating among SEC cornerbacks.
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