Here are the final grades of the Steelers free-agent class from 2020
The Steelers season ended in bitter disappointment this past Sunday, and before the talk turns to the future, there should be a reflection on the past. While the Steelers had a successful offseason that set them up for a solid season, almost all of that was due to the draft class and not the miserable free agents brought in. Luckily, the Steelers aren’t built by free agents, but the results from this class were certainly disappointing. Here are the grades from the 2020 free agents brought in.
Ray-Ray McCloud
Grade: A+
While I initially didn’t include Ray-Ray McCloud on the midseason list of free-agent grades, I should have. McCloud has easily been the best addition that the Steelers brought in this past year. He played on a contract for next to nothing but became one of the better return men that the team has fielded in nearly 20 years. He worked as both kick and punt returner for the Steelers and provided a level of stability that should continue into next year.
Better yet, McCloud even found some success on offense. While it was in a limited capacity, he ended up serving as the Steelers’ primary slot receiver behind JuJu Smith-Schuster. Considering the chances of him returning to the team are up in the air, McCloud could find himself as the starting slot receiver for the team next year. While the Steelers will likely add to this position via the draft or free agency, McCloud should be a presence on the offense next year. He was brought in for nothing and exceeded all expectations.
Chris Wormley
Grade: C-
While Chris Wormley had a slow start to the season, his play quickly picked up down the stretch. He served as the primary defensive end backup for the team, rotating in and out with the starters in order to keep them fresh. That said, he ended up playing the majority of snaps in the season finale against Cleveland. He compiled a sack, his only one of the season, but he continued his solid run defense in the game.
The issue with his final grade is two-fold though. One, he earned a pretty penny this season, as he qualified for the proven performance escalator on his rookie deal. He made over two million dollars this year, quite a lot for a reserve that never truly started a game. As well, he was acquired via a trade from the Ravens. The compensation was minimal, but it still required moving back in the draft.
Overall, Wormley was a fine but not great addition for the Steelers. He cost quite a bit to bring in, and while his play wasn’t bad, it was far from perfect. The best-case scenario now is for Wormley to get a big enough contract in free agency to earn a compensatory pick in 2022. His stay with the Steelers will likely be short, but he did what he needed to do. The issue was that he cost just a little too much for the value he brought in.
Derek Watt
Grade: F
I found myself hyping up the addition of Derek Watt shortly after he was signed this offseason. While adding a fullback isn’t glamorous, the Steelers had rushing issues and Watt also seemed like a decent special teams’ player. All of this seemed to crumble once he took the field. The Steelers barely used him on offense and his special teams’ play was ok at best. That would have been fine for a fullback playing on a minimal contract, but Watt is earning 3.25 million dollars per year.
His offensive usage was surprising, to say the least, this year. While he was never going to play 25 percent of the snaps, he only ended up playing just five percent, the lowest he has ever played on offense. Part of this was due to an injury he suffered, as it caused him to miss a few games to heal up. Even when healthy though, he failed to see significant offensive snaps. Simply put, Watt wasn’t effective as a blocker, and the team wasn’t a better running team with him on the field.
This was evident with the teams’ struggles in short-yardage. The offensive line had its fair share of issues blocking, but Watt did next to nothing as a blocker for the Steelers. Meanwhile, his special teams’ ability was fine, but certainly not worth the money he is set to make. While it is fun to imagine all three Watt brothers playing with the Steelers, JJ Watt seems like a long shot, and the Steelers will likely cut Derek this offseason. He hasn’t been worth the money, and the team can spend the money better elsewhere.
Stefen Wisniewski
Grade: F-
Easily the worst move of the offseason, Stefen Wisniewski did next to nothing for the Steelers while with the team. He was tasked with starting the first game against the Giants, but an injury caused him to miss the rest of the game and later be placed on injured reserve. There he remained until he got brought back from the reserved list only to be cut outright shortly after being elevated.
It ultimately didn’t matter though, as his play in the opening week was pretty horrible. He seemed out of place at guard and struggled to get much of a push. Despite Wisniewski playing over 90 percent of the snaps, the story of the game was how much better rookie Kevin Dotson looked in the game.
Considering he got paid to play 58 uninspiring snaps before being cut, Wisniewski earns the worst grade of any offseason move. While he found a home with the Chiefs, his brief stay with the Steelers was nothing short of a disaster. While Wisniewski is a good player, he just wasn’t the right fit for a Steelers guard. It was best that both went their separate ways, but it doesn’t change the fact that his signing was a wreck for the Steelers.
Eric Ebron
Grade: B-
When the Steelers signed Eric Ebron in the offseason, the fan base erupted with excitement. The team finally had their move tight end, and he and Ben Roethlisberger would light the world on fire. It took a while for the two to connect, but eventually, Roethlisberger began using Ebron as more of a safety valve as the season went on. As well, his red-zone production went up slightly as did his weekly receptions.
He certainly had his struggles with play after the catch. As well, drops popped up down the stretch for Ebron (as well as most of the Steelers) but it should be noted that in the three years that Pro Football Reference has logged them, Ebron’s drop percentage of 7.7 percent was the lowest calculated for him That may be more telling of his overall play, by drops shouldn’t have been surprising given his previous problems there.
It’ll be interesting to see if he makes it to the second year on his contract. With Vance McDonald likely going to be a cap casualty this offseason, the Steelers will have a huge hole at the position. Ebron is owed a hefty cap charge of over 8 million dollars next year. He may not be worth it, but the Steelers may not have a better solution than to keep him around. While his grade went up slightly, he was still far from the threat that the Steelers hoped he would be.
The Steelers found success in the draft this offseason, but they had their usual share of misses in free agency. The team doesn’t like to build through free agency thankfully, and that was evident the last offseason. The players added struggled and weren’t worth the money. When your best addition was a returner late in the offseason, it is telling of the quality of play from the players added.