Late-round draft picks rarely receive a great deal of attention as rookies, and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Logan Lee and Ryan Watts are no exceptions. Like nearly all late-round picks, they have a major roster battle ahead of them. Only then can they begin to carve out a role, and a career, for themselves.
Both of them, however, have a very legitimate shot of doing just that. While Lee in particular comes into a deep position group, there is room to maneuver. And Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believe he is one late-round prospect to pay attention to.
“I don’t know if he’ll make the biggest impact, but don’t sleep on 6th-rounder Logan Lee being part of the DL rotation”, Batko said in his chat yesterday, when asked which late-round pick he sees having the biggest impact. “He’s someone I find myself forgetting about too often”.
Despite his low pedigree as a sixth-round pick, Lee has the advantage of the anonymity of his predecessors. He likely finds himself in direct competition with DeMarvin Leal and Isaiahh Loudermilk, neither of whom has done anything remarkable.
The Steelers selected Loudermilk in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Leal in the third round in 2022. Leal in particular has had a disappointing career up, given his draft pedigree. The fact that he spent most of the second half of last season on the bench is particularly concerning.
While Loudermilk played most of those snaps ahead of Leal last year, he is in no better position this year. The Steelers added Dean Lowry as a veteran rotational end. With the retention of Montravius Adams as reserve defensive tackle, there may be as few as one roster spot open. And you have Logan Lee right in the mix competing for it.
In addition to Lee, Leal, and Loudermilk, you must also consider Breiden Fehoko a possibility. That gives you nine players competing for six or seven spots on the 53-man roster. And Lee has the benefit of his novelty. Coming from a pro-ready system in Iowa doesn’t hurt his case to make the team, either.
While he’ll never be an elite pass rusher, Lee could function rotationally on all downs. He may not have the athleticism or strength or size needed, but he is a smart player who can be an asset in executing stunts, for example, while contributing a sack or two here and there on his own.
Lee doesn’t quite fit the absolute prototype of what the Steelers want out of a 3-4 defensive end. However, in the sixth round, he was more than close enough to it to entice them to take a stab at it. All he has to do is show he can contribute as much as Loudermilk or Leal and he should be good. And there’s always the practice squad if he doesn’t make it as a rookie.
