Player: DL Logan Lee
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The Steelers have struck an optimistic tone on second-year DL Logan Lee after he missed his rookie season. While healthy for most of the year, they essentially redshirted him. Going into the 2025 season, he has an uphill battle to make the roster, but he’s had time to learn.
Before the 2025 season starts, Logan Lee should have more company in the Steelers’ defensive line room. The team is widely expected to address the position, perhaps multiple times, during the upcoming draft. Lee is a carryover from their previous class, who did not have the opportunity to see the field.
A sixth-round pick out of Iowa, Lee suffered an injury in training camp and landed on the Reserve/Injured List. Later on, he revealed that his injury was minor, and he could have played if necessary. The Steelers never had a need for him, so they never activated him. They did, however, open his 21-day practice window at the end of the regular season.
That allowed Logan Lee to get some practice time in for before the season ended, a kick-start into the offseason. Recently, Steelers GM Omar Khan also spoke highly of the second-year player and his potential to contribute.
On top of that, the team did not significantly address the position in free agency. While they signed two players, including Daniel Ekuale, neither name moves the needle much. Lee will still have his work cut out for him to make the 53-man roster, but he is still the player the Steelers believed he was when they drafted him.
Right now, they have Cameron Heyward, Keeanu Benton, DeMarvin Leal, Montravius Adams, Dean Lowry, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Lee, and the new guys, along with a stray practice squad-level player or two. That is already a full house in terms of numbers, but they have to improve the quality.
Most of them return from last season, and the Steelers’ run defense was not good enough last year. Logan Lee was not a part of that, which potentially gives him a leg up under the category of “something different”. But different doesn’t always mean better, so he’d better prove last year’s scouts right.
With the new league year underway and the Steelers turning their roster over, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract.
There is still a long way to go before we know what this Steelers team is going to look like. Once the dust settles on free agency, we turn our attention to the draft, and so on. What other moves might the team make, perhaps unexpected acquisitions or departures? If they traded for one player, they could certainly trade for another, or trade one away. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
