Report Card: Grading Steelers Free Agent Studs and Duds
Heading into the 2020 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers faced many questions surrounding both sides of the football. Questions such as "how would quarterback Ben Roethlisberger come back following his surgery?" and "what ways would the Steelers replace defensive tackle Javon Hargrave?" among a handful of other inquiries were proposed by yours truly over the course of the offseason.
While the Steelers are typically bystanders in free agency thanks to prioritizing in-house retention, 2020's offseason provided activity perhaps unexpected. Headlined by big-name tight end Eric Ebron, Pittsburgh took to the open market in an attempt to answer some of those questions.
Through nine games played thus far, the Steelers remain the league's sole undefeated team. Contributions from 2020's draft class have indeed helped Pittsburgh reach these accolades, yet where do their free agent acquisitions stand?
Although plenty of football is left to play, it's time for some report cards to be sent home.
Eric Ebron
Since Heath Miller's retirement, the Steelers have yet to truly find an effective starting tight end. From Jesse James to Vance McDonald, and even Nick Vannett, the Steelers have failed to field a tight end room to head coach Mike Tomlin's "varsity" standards.
Enter Eric Ebron.
Signed on a two-year deal worth $12 million, Ebron's presence has been greatly welcomed this season alongside McDonald's ability as a physical blocker. Ebron has played in every game thus far, hauling in 31 receptions on 49 targets for 323 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2020.
His dance moves have been pretty solid, too.
Ebron's presence on the field and in the locker room has been a welcome sight for teammates and fans. Ebron's 77% of snaps played in 2020 far outweigh McDonald's near 50%, solidifying himself as Pittsburgh's TE1. Although, McDonald has become a more reliable blocker due thanks to Ebron taking a heavy amount of targets at the position.
It feels as if Ebron has yet to fully hit his potential, although the Steelers have (expectedly) targeted him heavily in the red zone. It's fair to say Ebron has lived up to his billing, even if at times it feels as if his prior ball security issues still haunt him.
To Ebron's credit, those issues, most in the early stages of the season, have been corrected.
Without a doubt, Ebron has been the best signing out of the whopping three players signed in the offseason. He's yet to truly assert his dominance, but Pittsburgh's offense has made strides thanks to his presence.
Grade: B+
Derek Watt
After losing special teams player Tyler Matakevich and fullback Roosevelt Nix, Derek Watt was thought to have potentially replaced both players. That was at least the assumption after making Watt the third-highest paid fullback in the league on a three-year deal worth up to $9.75 million dollars.
However, Watt has played just five games in 2020, finding himself in for just 4.5% of offensive snaps and 28% of special teams snaps, partly due to a hamstring injury that's maintained its presence through the season.
While the Steelers are averaging 30 points per game, it's hard to make arguments against the team's offensive philosophy. Still, paying Watt a significant amount of money for his position for him to be on the back-burner for various reasons makes the acquisition virtually pointless.
Aside from (put your tinfoil hat on) hoping to eventually obtain the last Watt brother in the NFL.
When Watt's actually been available, his presence on special teams has indeed been felt. This last Sunday, Watt was responsible for securing the punt returner just long enough to allow another player to force a fumble while also helping bring a punter down for a safety earlier this season.
Both plays can be viewed below.
In the grand scheme of things, Watt's financial commitment mixed with his injuries, healthy scratches and flat-out lack of usage in the offense just doesn't make sense in hindsight. I can't say the Steelers, to this point, have made themselves better with Watt's signing, despite him making plays on special teams when called upon.
Grade: C-
Stefen Wisniewski
Out of the three signings, I believed this was going to be the most underrated one. Wisniewski, fresh off a Super Bowl victory with the Kansas City Chiefs, signed with the Steelers on a two-year, $2.85 million dollar deal in hopes of becoming a consistent starter with Pittsburgh.
However, prior to week nine's victory over Cincinnati, Wisniewski was waived from the team.
Wisniewski, who recently was activated off the injured reserve due to a pectoral injury suffered in week one, failed to impress during his short stint as a starting guard prior to rookie Kevin Dotson's emergence. The aforementioned factors led to the Steelers feeling confident in Dotson's ability as a back-up behind either DeCastro or Feiler moving forward.
With Wisniewski playing very little due to injury, there's not much to assess here, unfortunately. Obviously, releasing a player who should have made significantly more contributions than he did would leave room for a failing grade, however, Pittsburgh's ability to nab him on an extremely team-friendly deal and the emergence of Dotson help soothe the burn of whiffing on Wisniewski.
Grade: D
Others
While the Steelers only made three significant signings in the offseason, the team has managed to find contributors later in the free agency process.
Ray-Ray McCloud- What a refreshing presence McCloud has brought to Pittsburgh's special teams. After Diontae Johnson still showed signs of shaky ball security fielding punts, McCloud took over Johnson's role and has yet to look back. McCloud's 15 yards per punt return remains the highest in the league, while also catching 10/11 balls on the offensive side of the game as well. His speed and vision on special teams have undoubtedly helped in ways the Steelers haven't seen since Antonio Brown once took over the same role.
Grade: A
Jordan Berry- I've been one of Jordan Berry's harshest critics, and this shouldn't technically count, but the Steelers (along with everybody else) believed anybody could punt better than Berry. Dustin Colquitt proved that theory wrong. After re-signing Berry, he's punted extremely well and has helped flip the field in the battle of field position.
Grade: B+
Donnie Druin is a Staff Writer with AllSteelers. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
