DeShon Elliott

7-year journey from Ravens 6th-rounder to Steelers starting safety — 4 teams in 4 years.

Elliott was a Ravens 6th-round pick out of Texas in 2018 (missed his rookie year on IR). The career has been one-year-deal nomadic: BAL → DET → MIA → PIT, signing fresh contracts every offseason until Pittsburgh extended him.

2025's reduced number (20 tackles) reflects a mid-season injury that landed him on reserve. When healthy in 2024, he posted 66 tackles and 7 PDs as Pittsburgh's full-time strong safety.

2024 in Pittsburgh: 66 tackles, 7 PDs, 2 FFs — the most complete season of his career.

Pittsburgh signed Elliott to a 2-year deal in 2024 to replace Damontae Kazee/Minkah complement. The call hit:

- 66 tackles (career high, tied with 2022 DET) - 5 TFLs - 7 pass defenses - 2 forced fumbles - 2 fumble recoveries

That's the near-complete strong-safety stat line: stops at the LOS, ball-disrupting plays in coverage, and turnover production. Steelers locked him into the role for 2025 on that basis.

Career 279 tackles, 27 PDs, 6 FFs — the production sits in the back end of his career, not the front.

The Ravens drafted Elliott but never trusted him as a full-time starter — injuries and depth-chart issues capped him at 79 career tackles in his Baltimore tenure. From 2022 onward, given starter snaps, he's averaged 50 tackles per year with steady PD production.

Career: 279 tackles, 18 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, 16 QB hits, 27 PDs, 6 FFs, 5 FRs. The PD-to-FF ratio (27:6) marks him as a hard-hitting box safety more than a coverage piece.

4.5 career sacks as a safety — and 2.5 of them came in a single year (2020 BAL).

Safeties rarely hit 5 career sacks. Elliott is at 4.5, with the production heavily concentrated:

- 2020 BAL: 2.5 sacks (Don Martindale's blitz-heavy scheme) - 2021 BAL: 1.0 sack - 2025 PIT: 1.0 sack - All other seasons: 0

Martindale's defense in 2020 led the NFL in blitz rate. Elliott was one of the secondary's primary blitzers — that one season accounts for more than half his career sacks.

Forced 6 fumbles in 7 seasons — including 4 in his two Pittsburgh years.

Six forced fumbles across 7 seasons isn't gaudy on its own, but the clustering matters: 3 of the 6 came in Pittsburgh, in a defense that finished top-5 in takeaways both years.

The pattern fits his role: he's deployed as the downhill, ball-aware safety alongside Minkah Fitzpatrick's range — and the production reflects that division of labor. Minkah gets the picks; Elliott punches the ball out.

2022 Detroit and 2024 Pittsburgh tied at 66 tackles — bookending the 'starter for hire' era.

Across three franchises and three defensive coordinators, Elliott has produced a remarkably consistent ~55-65 tackle, ~5-PD season. The 2024 Pittsburgh year is the peak — same volume as Detroit with more turnover-producing splash plays.

The career thesis: a plug-and-play strong safety who lets the team-building work get done elsewhere. Pittsburgh's read was that the stability matters more than the marginal upgrade.