When you pick off Aaron Rodgers twice in front of a national audience in prime time, it's safe to say you've arrived in the NFL.
Pittsburgh Steelers rookie defensive back Beanie Bishop can check that item off his to-do list after his impressive performance in Sunday night's 37-15 win over the New York Jets.
Despite impressive film and production at West Virginia last season (four interceptions, 20 pass breakups), Bishop was forced to wait through all seven rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft without hearing his name called. The No. 150 overall prospect in our final rankings, Bishop earned a fourth-round grade on our board, but couldn't get a single bite among the 257 selections that made up this year's class.
He signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent, and unsurprisingly, parlayed an impressive performance in the preseason into a spot on the team's initial 53-man roster heading into the regular season. That wasn't enough for Bishop, though, as he also earned the starting nickel corner spot.
Undersized and clearly underrated by the entire league, Bishop made sure the future Hall of Famer in Rodgers knew exactly who he was Sunday night, snaring a one-handed pick in the first half, and following it up with a tip-drill takeaway later in the game:
The modern NFL places a premium on versatile playmakers on both sides of the ball, and on defense, that looks like a smart, instinctive secondary player who can play in space or down near the line of scrimmage, handle zone responsibilities or match up in man coverage, make plays when the ball comes his way and not be fazed by the weight of the moment.
Bishop checked all of those boxes Sunday night, proving to be exactly the kind of player every NFL team should have been clamoring for at any point in this year's draft. The rest of the league's loss is Pittsburgh's gain, as one of the best defenses in the league got even better with a lucky break, landing an impact player as an undrafted free agent.
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