PITTSBURGH - Jaquan Brisker’s first week of Steelers training camp came with a little extra noise, and not just from the practice fields in Latrobe.
The new starting free safety was already planning to see his family in the city, but more than 100 relatives made the trip to St. Vincent’s College to turn camp into a reunion. Gold shirts with Brisker’s name were everywhere, and they ended up as the loudest group in the stands.
Brisker gave them plenty to cheer about. That has been a theme through camp, where the 27-year-old defensive back has looked comfortable and active from the start.
A big part of that early comfort has come from working with Ike Taylor, the former Steelers cornerback and current staff member who has been around Brisker throughout camp. Brisker said he has been leaning hard on Taylor’s experience.
“It’s amazing,” he said about having Taylor around. “I try to get as much information from Ike all the time.
They had a top defense every single year…. Just trying to feel, you know, how they had that connection.”
Brisker has been soaking up every bit of knowledge he can find. Earlier this offseason, videos surfaced of him working out with former Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald, and now he’s carrying that same approach into Pittsburgh. The result has been a player who already looks like a defensive voice on the field.
That matters even more with Patrick Graham now running the defense. Graham is one of the biggest names at camp, and he has taken over a unit that has underperformed despite its price tag. So far, the group appears to be picking up what he’s teaching.
Brisker was asked after a recent practice about his read on Graham’s defense, and the question drew a smile before he praised the coordinator’s scheme.
That kind of quick buy-in is important for Brisker, because Graham is going to ask plenty of him. The Steelers were one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL last year, and Brisker’s playmaking and coverage ability give them a chance to improve that area in 2026.
For Pittsburgh, that’s the hope. For Brisker, it’s about building the right relationships with Graham and Taylor and doing whatever he can to help push the secondary back toward elite status.
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