Player: CB Darius Rush
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Second-year CB Darius Rush reaps the benefits of attrition this offseason from multiple points of view. With several cornerbacks off the roster, he climbs up the defensive depth chart by default. However, the Steelers also lost two key special teams contributors, which opens another path to a spot on the roster.
A lot of fans rightly liked Darius Rush as a college prospect last year coming out of South Carolina. A fifth-round draft pick, he has intriguing size at 6-2 and ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. Those figures alone are enough to get you excited, but the reality is he is already on his third team.
The Indianapolis Colts first drafted him 138th overall, but he did not make the 53-man roster. The Kansas City Chiefs claimed him off waivers, but he only lasted two weeks on the 53-man roster. After clearing waivers, they signed him to their practice squad from which location the Pittsburgh Steelers signed him to their 53-man roster in mid-October.
And then he proceeded to play in three games, including one only on special teams. He made his NFL debut in Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans, playing 30 snaps. However, that game is best remembered for Rush dropping a would-be game-sealing interception in the red zone as the clock wound down. Fortunately for him, ILB Kwon Alexander nabbed the interception a couple plays later.
Be that as it may, it’s always difficult to adjust to multiple different schemes within a season. To do it as a rookie only further adds to the struggles to adapt quickly, so Darius Rush certainly deserves a grace period. He only joined the Steelers on October 18, prior to which he never played an NFL snap or even been on a roster before.
It’s no surprise he subsequently spent most of the rest of the season inactive or simply not playing, but he has a chance to prove himself this offseason. The current status of the roster is to his benefit. While they traded for CB Donte Jackson, they also released Patrick Peterson. They also have not re-signed Levi Wallace, James Pierre, and Chandon Sullivan.
Pierre is a particularly beneficial loss for Rush because the former fulfilled a critical role on special teams as a gunner. In fact, he’s already signed elsewhere, and so, too, has their other primary gunner, WR Miles Boykin.
Looking at the roster right now, Rush is likely one of the primary candidates to take over one of the gunner roles in 2024. He has the size and the speed to do it. And if he manages to stick there, then he has time to grow into a defensive role on top.
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.
