As unfortunate as the injury was to cornerback Senquez Golson, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a team, and coach Mike Tomlin always preaches the “next man up” philosophy. Whether it is an injury or suspension, everyone on this team must be ready to play, because you never know when your name is going to get called. That is the position that rookie defensive back Sean Davis finds himself in.

When Golson was injured he was working with the first-team defense in 11-on-11 as the third cornerback. At this point, with the sheer volume of nickel the Steelers play, five defensive backs is the new base defense. Golson was working in the slot with William Gay and Ross Cockrell working primarily on the outside.

So when Golson went down, was it first-round cornerback Artie Burns that took his spot? Nope. It was the second-round pick Davis instead.

With Golson out, Sean Davis seeing more reps in 11-on-11 as the slot CB — Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) August 1, 2016

Davis does have experience at cornerback from his time at Maryland. He was also working as the slot cornerback earlier in the summer at OTAs. The decision to put Davis here over Burns is probably due more to the fact that he is so good against the run. With so many sub packages, the Steelers will see a ton of run plays when they are in nickel.

His ability to serve as that “big nickel” hybrid defensive back gives him a significant edge over Burns. Davis is more accustomed to working inside in coverage and is better in traffic. Burns is strictly a boundary corner, and likely a very good one in the NFL.

Related Versatility of Sean Davis increasing options for Steelers defense

But you know the guy who is looking closely at this situation? Safety Robert Golden. His primary competition for the starting strong safety position was Davis. If the Steelers’ coaches want Davis to be that No. 3 CB, Golden’s path to being the opening-week starter just got a lot easier.

Either way, Davis needs to be on the field as soon as possible, it is just unfortunate that it is happening under these circumstances.