Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: OL Spencer Anderson
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The rookie seventh-round draft pick is taking another step or two closer to securing a spot on the 53-man roster. After a solid performance in his preseason debut last week, he is now seeing more time in practice as third-string center, and even getting work at tackle with the second team, giving him multiple pathways to make the team.
No matter how often teams talk about the value of versatility, there is still a hesitation in throwing too much at a rookie. The Steelers don’t seem to have been overly concerned on that front as it concerns seventh-round pick Spencer Anderson.
Largely viewed as an afterthought by most following a compelling front half of the draft, Anderson is angling for a spot on the 53-man roster, and may be ‘inside’ the proverbial roster bubble as of this moment. He played at least capably at both left and right guard and at right tackle across dozens of snaps in the Steelers’ first preseason game last Friday.
But of particular note to me is Alex Kozora’s training camp diary, in which he draws the conclusion that the rookie may be moving up the depth chart at tackle. The Steelers added veteran Le’Raven Clark as a free agent this offseason, but recent signs point toward Anderson jumping ahead of him on the depth chart.
Regardless of his general position flexibility, that alone may be enough for him to secure a spot on the 53-man roster, as the fourth tackle behind Dan Moore Jr., Chukwuma Okorafor, and fellow rookie Broderick Jones.
The fact that he has been taking more snaps at center doesn’t hurt his cause, of course. He has lined up at all five offensive line positions at some point this camp, already, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he completes the preseason offensive line position cycle on Saturday by playing center and left guard against the Buffalo Bills in the second game.
Still, a certain level of quality in play has to be maintained, and I don’t think anybody is going to mistake him for David DeCastro, Maurkice Pouncey, or Marcus Gilbert right now. And there may come a point at which the Steelers are throwing too much at him. They may have to back down and let him focus on being either an interior or outside lineman for now so that he can begin to grow in one area throughout his rookie season.
