It’s time for the Pittsburgh Steelers Sophomore Spotlight Series. During this series we’ll be taking a look at Pittsburgh’s second year players to determine their standing with the team, what their role might be in 2022-23, and how big of an impact they can have in year two.
Tre Norwood: Defensive Back
2021-22 Season Review
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Tre Norwood in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Norwood was drafted because of his ability to do it all. Literally. Head Coach Mike Tomlin announced the selection of Norwood by calling him a “Swiss Army knife utility back, safety”. In college at Oklahoma, Norwood played slot and outside corner, free safety and at times close to the line of scrimmage (LOS).
For Pittsburgh as a rookie, Norwood was the backup free safety and got work in dime packages as a slot defender. As the year went along, he started getting more snaps in the nickel formation as the slot corner in passing situations.
Norwood ended up being a busy player for a seventh round pick. Playing 388 defensive snaps and 202 special teams snaps. He appeared in all 18 games last season.
The knocks on Norwood coming out of college were: What is his NFL best NFL position? And is he physical enough for the NFL? While versatility was his strength in college and an important trait for a defensive back coming off the bench, it was still good to narrow his focus early in his career. As for the physicality, that got better as the season went along. Going from shoulder tackles and even shying away from contact, to becoming an adequate tackler not afraid of the moment.
2022-23 Season Preview
Norwood should have a slightly expanded role in 2022-23. We saw Pittsburgh experiment with three safety sets during the preseason. Those packages usually included veteran Damontae Kazee as the third safety with starters Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds. Kazee brings a similar versatility in coverage to Norwood, with the added benefit of being a plus tackler.
But Kazee is now on Injured Reserve with a wrist injury and could be out until halfway through the season. This could open up more snaps for Norwood. In some of these plays with the three safeties, we saw Fitzpatrick up near the LOS and occasionally blitzing. If Pittsburgh is going to do that, you’d want Norwood out there as the deep safety.
Norwood should continue to see some work as a slot defender in sub packages as well. Although it may still just be on passing downs. With the team retaining Arthur Maulet who is strong against the run and is a slot defender only, Norwood still won’t get full time work in that role. Even in the nickel on passing downs, Norwood will likely not see the field for those snaps. Cam Sutton will likely be in the role, moving inside in nickel with the addition of Levi Wallace and re-signing of Ahkello Witherspoon this offseason.
Still, I expect to see Pittsburgh find ways to expand Norwood’s role. That likely will include more special teams snaps as well. Norwood was Pittsburgh’s first team up-back on the punt unit with veteran Marcus Allen sidelined during the preseason. Allen is back and healthy, but that faith shows Pittsburgh values Norwood on special teams.
Tre Norwood had an impressive rookie campaign. He played well in the preseason as well on both defense and special teams. I expect to see a slightly expanded role for Norwood this year, and continued improvement and production.
Subscribe to our Newsletter!
Check out our Shop!
Follow us on Twitter!