Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2022 season is over, the team finishing above .500 but failing to make the postseason, we turn our attention to the offseason and everything that means. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on broader contexts, reflecting on a player’s development, either positively or negatively, over the course of the season. Other evaluations will reflect only one immediate event or trend. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: DL DeMarvin Leal
Stock Value: Even
Reasoning: A lot has changed since the last time we revisited DeMarvin Leal in this series back in February, but one thing has stayed the same: we still have no idea what the Steelers’ plans are exactly for the second-year player.
There tend to be a lot of kneejerk negative reactions whenever I write a ‘down’ evaluation for a player popular among fans or an ‘up’ evaluation for a player who is unpopular. It’s not something I intend, and I always go out of my way to explain precisely what I mean, which is rarely what is assumed that I mean.
I really could have written a ‘down’ evaluation here for Leal given how long it’s been since we’ve talked about him, but I’m not going to precisely for the reason I just outlined above. After all, Larr Ogunjobi wasn’t even under contract the last time we talked about him in this series, and it was far from a given that he was going to be re-signed.
I don’t know how many thought there was a high chance that Leal was going to be in the starting lineup this year, granted, but we certainly know now that he won’t be—probably not for at least a couple of years, if ever.
Even the coaches have admitted that they’re not quite sure just yet what they intend to do with the young man. They covet his versatility, yet are still trying to figure out here he fits and in what situations. The good news is that they can figure that out during training camp and the preseason—and really, as the regular season goes along.
I personally tend to agree with Ray Fittipaldo’s assessment that he is probably going to ultimately settle into a largely traditional five-tech role along the defensive line, but with the capability of moving him around the formation a bit where applicable.
Really, his greatest value might actually prove to be the opportunity for the Steelers to use more fronts with four down linemen, because he would make a good end piece in that formation. That is a look they were using more late in the season against run-heavy teams, so we know that it is in their bag of tricks.
For his part, Leal has never said nor implied a negative word about his role. He is fully on board with having the coaching staff use him however they see fit, embracing his ‘tweener’ status and trusting in his uniqueness as his greatest asset. Let’s hope that proves true—and that they figure out how best to harness it sooner rather than later.
