Buy Or Sell: It’s time for the Steelers to try DL DeMarvin Leal at outside linebacker.
Explanation: The Steelers found DeMarvin Leal’s athletic versatility one of his most attractive qualities. They have used him all over the defense, including playing on the edge, even as a rookie. In fact, he saw a fair amount of snaps there in 2022, while T.J. Watt missed time due to injury. Leal has not played up to the standard along the defensive line over his first two seasons, losing ground, even. It’s time to try a position switch as his best chance of sticking where they have less depth.
Buy:
There are two factors here. For starters, they need another outside linebacker, and they have too many linemen. The numbers tell you that the position switch makes sense. The other factor is DeMarvin Leal’s tape. There’s a reason he spent most of the second half of the 2023 season watching from the bench.
The Steelers already have eight or so credible defensive linemen competing for as few as six roster spots. In the meantime, they only have three outside linebackers of note. Leal isn’t going to rediscover himself through a position switch, but maybe it serves him well. The Steelers let Kendrick Green experiment at fullback last year to give him a puncher’s chance. Let Leal see if he can stick on the outside.
Sell:
It’s a nice enough idea on paper by the sounds of it, but DeMarvin Leal is no defensive end. His athleticism wasn’t winning him many pass-rush reps from the interior, so they’re not going to work on the outside. One can argue that he actually showed more at times in the run-blocking department, which you might not expect.
And where’s the rush to give up on young players? Cameron Heyward didn’t start until a handful of games into his third season. Leal is 23 years old. He has the size and skills to play, but he’s still learning and growing. Leave him where he is and let him compete, and then we’ll see what progress he’s made.
If you really want to give him a chance later on, keep him on the practice squad. You can begin working on moving him to outside linebacker while he’s there. But he may still have something along the defensive line if you just give him a chance.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
