Player: DB Ryan Watts
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: The signing of ILB Tyler Matakevich could cause a ripple effect that sends rookie DB Ryan Watts off the roster. Matakevich won’t necessarily take the place of another linebacker, and Watts is sort of in between positions. He will need to prove that he is as good as somebody like Mark Robinson, potentially, to make the team. He was going to have a battle making the roster before this, but the move only makes it tougher.
How does the signing of an inside linebacker affect the job security of a defensive back? It’s worth reminding that positional numbers are flexible and suit current needs. That is especially important to remember concerning special teams. Both Tyler Matakevich and Ryan Watts are special-teams-first players right now, so they will sink or swim as such. At that point, it doesn’t matter if you have a ninth linebacker versus an 11th defensive back.
A rookie sixth-round draft pick, Ryan Watts is a college outside cornerback evidently transitioning to safety. It doesn’t seem the Steelers view him as an outside player at the NFL level, so he is already facing transitional obstacles. Accordingly, he always needed to maximize his special-teams value.
Tyler Matakevich has an eight-year career as an established special-teams player, so his signing affects a player like Watts. He is not the only one potentially at risk, but he is the one that jumped out to me. Matakevich could take any number of fringe players’ jobs, including fellow ILB Mark Robinson.
The Steelers already have four safeties in Minkah Fitzpatrick, DeShon Elliott, Damontae Kazee, and Miles Killebrew. Granted, Killebrew is a special-teams ace, so you can fudge the numbers there. But I don’t think Watts has very high odds of establishing himself as a defensive contributor at safety this year.
At cornerback, the Steelers have a variety of options, with Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson the core duo. From there, you look at guys like Cory Trice Jr., Darius Rush, Josiah Scott, and Beanie Bishop Jr. If you just stop there, then you’re already up to 10 defensive backs. If you keep an extra linebacker you didn’t have previously, it’s a lot harder to fit an 11th defensive back. That’s what a player like Watts is more vulnerable now than he was prior to the Matakevich signing.
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.
