Now that the 2020 offseason has begun, following a second consecutive season in which they failed to even reach the playoffs, it’s time to take stock of where the Pittsburgh Steelers stand. Specifically where Steelers players stand individually based on what we have seen happen over the course of the past season, and with notice to anything that happens going forward.
A stock evaluation can take a couple of different approaches and I’ll try to make clear my reasonings. In some cases it will be based on more long-term trends, such as an accumulation of offseason activity. In other instances it will be a direct response to something that just happened. So we can see a player more than once over the course of the summer as we move forward.
Player: WR Amara Darboh
Stock Value: Down
Not a lot of people are going to care about this. Perhaps there isn’t really much reason that they should. Amara Darboh could be best described as a fringe player. However, he does have NFL experience, before he came to the Steelers, which is more than can be said for most of the wide receivers beyond the top three, and he also finished on the 53-man roster last season.
Darboh was drafted in the third round in 2017 by the Seattle Seahawks. He is 6’2” and weighs 215 pounds. He ran at 4.45 40-yard dash. He has both the draft and physical pedigree that you would want. Yet he only lasted one season in Seattle, catching eight of 13 targets for 72 yards, producing two first downs.
Darboh technically spent the 2018 season with the Seahawks, but not because they wanted to keep him. He was released, and the Patriots claimed him off waivers. But he then failed a physical, resulting in him being waived with that distinction, causing him to revert to Seattle’s injured reserve.
He did stick around in training camp the following year, waived only at the end of August. He was unsigned until the Buccaneers gave him a spot on their practice squad on September 16. He did get promoted for ra few weeks from the middle of October to the end of November. A couple of weeks after being waived, the Steelers signed him to the practice squad on November 18. He was promoted to the 53-man roster on December 16, remaining there for the final two games of the season.
What has changed since then? Well, Ryan Switzer, who was on injured reserve on the time, got healthy. the Steelers drafted Chase Claypool in the second round. They did release Johnny Holton, so that offsets the guaranteed roster spot Claypool has.
They also added a number of other players in Darboh’s shoes, though. Quadree Henderson, who has played some. Anthony Johnson. Saeed Blacknail. The former two were on the practice squad. The latter was signed out of the XFL. And there’s still Deon Cain, who is similar to Darboh but actually played. So yeah, I wouldn’t count on him being on the 53-man roster, but of course he’ll have a chance to state his case during training camp.
