Now that the 2021 season is over, bringing yet another year of disappointment, a fifth consecutive season with no postseason victories, it’s time to take stock of where the Pittsburgh Steelers stand. Specifically, where Steelers players stand individually based on what we have seen and are seeing over the course of the season and into the offseason as it plays out. We will also be reviewing players based on their previous season and their prospects for the future. A stock evaluation can take a couple of different approaches and I’ll try to make clear my reasoning. In some cases, it will be based on more long-term trends. In other instances, it will be a direct response to something that just happened. Because of this, we can and will see a player more than once over the course of the season as we move forward.
Player: Dan Moore Jr.
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The second-year left tackle has been unchallenged this offseason in terms of the Steelers acquiring talent that could threaten his position as a starter, yet he has given no indications that he lacks the internal motivation and drive to better himself and become the best player he is capable of being, highlighted by an offseason full of work with personal trainers.
Amazingly enough, I just took a look, I have not touched on Dan Moore Jr. at all this offseason. The last time I wrote about him was at the end of the regular season when it looked like he was going to be healthy enough to be a go for the playoffs.
The 2021 fourth-round draft pick started 17 games in all during his rookie year, including the postseason, missing only one game, the finale, due to injury. By and large, while he did not have a ‘good’ year by any holistic and uncurved grading, he did improve over the course of the season, and it’s always important that a rookie is getting better when he finishes up his first year in the league.
Moore did that, and now he has a full season of NFL experience, not just in terms of playing but also in learning offenses, learning defenses, understanding how to be a professional and what it takes from a physical endurance perspective.
Even though the Steelers have not brought anybody in who could be conceivably viewed as a challenger for his job—they signed journeyman veteran Trent Scott and retained Joe Haeg and Chaz Green as depth—however, there have been no signs of him being complacent.
In fact, just about all you see from him on social media is reports and updates from his personal trainers showing all of the work that he’s putting in. To his credit, the same can be said for fellow second-year lineman Kendrick Green, who finds himself competing with Kevin Dotson to start at left guard after being the team’s top center as a rookie.
Moore still has a lot to prove and a lot to live up to, but it’s more than reasonable to expect that he will show improvement in his second season. Not just because it’s natural for us to be able to do things better the second time we do it, but also because, as best as we can tell, he is putting in the work and showing that he has the drive to improve whether tangibly challenged with job insecurity or not. I genuinely believe he wants to be a great tackle, and that’s all the motivation he needs.
