4 dark horse Steelers candidates to take over Mark Barron’s role in 2020

Marcus Allen

At 6’2” and 215 pounds, Marcus Allen is big for a safety and a bit undersized as a linebacker. Though the Steelers had high hopes for the Penn State product coming out of the draft in 2018, he thoroughly disappointed in his second preseason last year.

Despite his physical, downhill play style, Allen is a stiff-hipped player who took some shockingly poor angles in the 2019 preseason. As a result, he was quickly demoted to the practice squad and has dressed for the Steelers in just three games in his first two years.

As far as experience goes, Allen has played just 18 defensive snaps and 19 special teams snaps early in his career. Still, with a severe lack of quality depth at both inside linebacker and safety, Allen not only has a chance to stick around with the team this year, but is a dark horse candidate to carve a role as Pittsburgh’s sub-package linebacker.

With little NFL experience, Marcus Allen may be a long-shot, but he’s entering his third year with the team. Perhaps he’s finally ready for a bigger role.