Player: WR Miles Boykin
Stock Value: Sold
Reasoning: The New York Giants announced the signing of former Steelers WR Miles Boykin yesterday. The somewhat surprising move leaves Pittsburgh in an awkward position—on special teams. Boykin has been a special teams ace for them for the past two seasons. With James Pierre also leaving in free agency, the Steelers have lost their two best gunners—and a willing blocker.
The majority of the Steelers’ wide receiver room from last season is now gone. They released Allen Robinson II and traded Diontae Johnson, and now they’ve even lost Miles Boykin. The latter just signed with the New York Giants after spending two seasons in Pittsburgh.
Boykin logged all of 253 offensive snaps across the 2022-23 seasons, during which time he produced five catches for 28 yards. But he also played 523 snaps on special teams, including 316 last year. To put that into context, the Steelers just re-signed All-Pro special teamer Miles Killebrew for $3 million per season. He logged 319 snaps last year.
Now, are the Steelers going to fall apart because they don’t have Boykin covering punts as a gunner? No, they’re not. It’s simply going to open the door for other players—even if they’re worse at it, most likely. Somebody like Darius Rush could solidify his roster spot by carving out a niche there.
And there are always opportunities for rookies, though I’m not sure a Day Two rookie wide receiver who is likely to start is going to run down punts. The Steelers added some veteran receivers with Boykin unsigned, but neither Quez Watkins or Van Jefferson have that background.
Honestly, it’s hard to say whom the Steelers take on to fill these roles with Boykin gone. We quite possibly may see them sign a veteran specifically to play on special teams in this capacity at some point. Because realistically, who is going to do it? You’re not going to ask Calvin Austin III to do it. Cory Trice Jr. is coming off an ACL tear.
Really, scroll through the Steelers’ roster and tell me who their gunners are going to be this year. I’m not sure they have two currently on the team.
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.
