Aug 3, 2016 5 min read

LATROBE – An NFL training camp is as much about position meetings as it is about what happens on the football field.

That’s why every day at noon, Steelers defensive backs coach Carnell Lake has what he calls a, “young guys meeting.”

It’s a full room. Basically, only veteran cornerback Will Gay and safety Mike Mitchell are excused. Everybody else? They better be there.

The Steelers are dreadfully young in the secondary. Of the current group of cornerbacks in training camp, only Gay, Ross Cockrell and 30-year-old Donald Washington have played a snap in the NFL. And Washington, who signed with the Steelers after playing in the CFL last season, hasn’t taken an NFL snap since 2011.

The Steelers are a little more experienced at safety, but the inexperience at cornerback is one reason the team isn’t panicking over the loss of 2015 second-round pick Senquez Golson to a Lis Franc injury. Golson suffered the injury Monday, putting his season in jeopardy.

Because Golson missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, the Steelers already figured they’d be starting at least one defensive back with little to no NFL experience.

Golson was in that spot since training camp opened at Saint Vincent College. Now it appears the job belongs to second-round draft pick Sean Davis.

“There was no pecking order,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “We’re just working guys. It’s not like Senquez has done that much more than Davis. Rotations and who’s playing with what group are less important right now than what we’re asking of each group.”

It does beg the question, however, what about first-round draft pick Artie Burns?

Why aren’t the Steelers replacing a cornerback with another cornerback? Davis played some cornerback in college but was drafted as a safety.

“I’m just here to work,” said Burns, who sat out practice Wednesday with soreness in his groin. “It’s still early in camp, so you don’t know who is going to land where. Every day I come to work. You don’t know if someone else is going to go down. You have to come to work every day. If the coaches feel like you’re the best for that spot, they’ll put me there.”

That might not be the answer some Steelers fans – who questioned the pick of Burns in the first round – want to hear.

The coaching staff, however, believes its best option covering wide receivers in the slot is the 6-1, 200-pound Davis.

“He’s a strong, fast, physical guy,” said Lake. “Receivers will challenge him. The run game and some of the zone pass defenses will be very similar for him as they are at safety. That won’t be a big transition. Some of the man-to-man stuff, getting different formations, he’ll have to get that quickly.”

That is what has Davis ahead of Burns.

At 6-0, 197 pounds, Burns is similar in size to Davis. But he’s a different kind of player.

“I have played the slot a little bit, but I’m truly an outside press corner,” said Burns.

Gay has played in the slot and the Steelers have lauded his performance there. But they seem intent on keeping him on the outside at this point and Burns on the bench.

Another reason for that might be Burns is less polished than Davis, who started 40 college games compared to 23 for Burns.

Burns also has struggled in pass coverage during training camp. Then again, many times the Steelers made sure Burns was matched up with All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown, which will lead to a bad day for any cornerback.

“He’s learning,” Lake said of Burns. “He’s taking his lumps right now. But I see some improvement and we want to keep that improvement going day to day.”

And that’s what the young guys meetings are about. The Steelers are trying to shrink the learning curve as quickly as possible.

“We just go over different formations, different coverages, stuff like that, so that when it’s game time we’re ready,” Burns said. “He wants to speed us up during camp. That’s what we talk about.”

In addition to Burns, several others sat out practice with what Tomlin deemed were bumps and bruises. Among them were defensive end Stephon Tuitt and wide receiver Markus Wheaton. … Inside linebacker Ryan Shazier was shaken up, according to Tomlin, and left practice early. Also leaving early were receivers DeMarcus Ayers (ankle) and Canaan Severin (shoulder). … The Steelers waived tight end Mandel Dixon and receiver Shakim Phillips and signed cornerback Kevin White and tight end Jake Phillips, both rookies. White played at TCU and Phillips at UNLV. … The Steelers will practice at 2:55 p.m. today. The session is open to the public.