Player: DL DeMarvin Leal
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Facing a potential make-or-break season, third-year DL DeMarvin Leal is impressing his coaches so far. A superior athlete who has delivered inferior performance, he seems to be taking his professional obligations seriously this year. But the real test, assuming he makes the 53-man roster, will be what he does in the games that count.
The Steelers invested a third-round draft pick in DeMarvin Leal in 2022. So far, they have not gotten the anticipated returns, and he is running out of time. Although he has two years remaining on his rookie contract, he very much must earn his roster spot this year.
In addition to investing in veteran Dean Lowry, the Steelers also drafted another defensive lineman in Logan Lee. They still have Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, Keeanu Benton, Montravius Adams, and Isaiahh Loudermilk, as well. In case you are bad at math, that is already seven linemen without even getting to Leal.
And keeping seven defensive linemen remains incredibly rare for the Steelers or any 3-4 team. In fact, I think it’s unlikely this year given the numbers needs at other positions. Leal may be competing with Lee and Loudermilk for just one spot. And Breiden Fehoko could contend for a position as well.
The good news for Leal is that he appears to grasp the urgency of his current predicament. Having previously faced criticism about his conditioning, he is in the best shape of his professional career. It’s funny how job insecurity can inspire the best in all of us—or most of us, at least.
That is just job one for Leal, however. The next step is delivering at every stage of the offseason. He particularly needs to impress when the pads come on and his athleticism is less evident. There is a reason that he spent most of the second half of the 2023 season on the bench as a healthy scratch. And it’s not just because Isaiahh Loudermilk just looked so damn good the Steelers couldn’t keep him off the field.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
