While the Steelers roster is slanted heavily to early-round picks, these recent late-round and undrafted guys have a chance to make a real impact in 2021.
The Steelers have a long history of late-round and undrafted players finding roles and even starting on this team. While instant impact players are found in the first two days of the draft, a roster is built on day three and through the undrafted pool. Looking at the teams’ roster this season, there are a few new and former late-round and undrafted players that are poised to make an impact this season.
What defines a Steelers late-round pick?
The definition of a late-round pick is up for debate, but for the purposes of this article, it will be defined as a player that hasn’t played considerably in the NFL (assuming they aren’t a rookie) and were taken in the fifth round or later of the draft. While one could argue that a fourth-round pick is a late-round guy, typically their initial roster spot is secure and they are taken with the hope of eventually becoming a starter. Compare that to anyone after and their odds of making an opening day roster are thin let alone the odds of them actually starting.
This means Kevin Dotson is not on this list despite the fact he is set to start due to his draft status (if you include fourth-round picks, he would have made the list). As well, Vince Williams is also not on this list. While he was a sixth-round pick, he has been a regular starter and thus him having an impact this year is expected. With all that said, here are the six late-round players set to make an impact with the 2021 Steelers.
Pressley Harvin III
It is no secret that the Steelers have struggled in the punter department for seemingly forever. A constant rotation between options and little consistency when on the field has led to this position being agonizing to watch for the team. Jordan Berry has had some success, but he seems so hot and cold. He will punt for periods and look like a great punter and then follow that up with a month of horrid punting.
While Steelers’ seventh-round pick Pressley Harvin III is no roster lock, one has to imagine he has the upper hand over Berry right now. Harvin has a powerful leg and decent accuracy, thus the reason the team decided to invest a draft pick in him. He doesn’t need to become the best punter in the league to make this roster. He just needs to be more consistent than Berry has been during his tenure. Assuming he makes the roster, he will have the tall task of bettering the Steelers’ punting unit.
Robert Spillane
For anyone that watched last season, you should know the incredible journey that Robert Spillane has taken to make the roster. A former undrafted castoff, he worked his way through the Steelers practice squad and found himself making the roster for his special teams’ contribution. After Devin Bush was lost for the season last year, Spillane was suddenly thrust into the starting job.
While he had his issues, overall, his play last season was positive. Moving forward though, his role with the team is up in the air. Vince Williams returns and will enter his name into the starting ring. As well, the Steelers drafted the athletic Buddy Johnson with the expectation of him becoming a role player at some point. While his competition is fierce, don’t be surprised to see Spillane get the majority of snaps for at least next season.
Important to remember is that Spillane is surprisingly one of the better coverage linebackers on the team which gives him the versatility to play in sub-packages. While his play last season almost disqualified him from this list, the fact that he isn’t guaranteed a starting spot ultimately earns him a spot this year. Don’t be surprised when Spillane is seeing the majority of the starting snaps at linebacker despite his unusual journey to the roster.
Shakur Brown
An undrafted name that everyone should be excited about, Shakur Brown has a chance to not only make the opening day roster but also have a role in sub-package defense. Most expected Brown to go somewhere early on day three, but his smaller size, below-average athleticism, and underclassman status ended up causing him to go undrafted. The Steelers scooped him up quickly afterward and now, he has a chance to make an impact early in his career.
While he doesn’t play with the same physicality, the Mike Hilton comparison has some justification. Both players are slot-only options and have average at best athleticism. That said, both have a knack for making big plays (Hilton as evident by his run stops, Brown as evident with his five interceptions last season). While there will be a jump in competition for Brown, he has a real chance of carving out a role with the team.
While he isn’t guaranteed to make the roster given his undrafted status, the weak depth at cornerback leads to the chance that he finds his way onto the roster. From there, if he proves that he isn’t a liability, he could see starting snaps as a sub-package player early in the season. Even if Cameron Sutton goes to the slot in multiple cornerback sets, Brown could still serve in the role as a nickel back similar to how Sutton was used before he started. Brown has a clear path to the roster and could see significant defensive snaps early this season.
Carlos Davis
While Carlos Davis didn’t play significant snaps during his rookie year, the ones he did showed some promise as a potential nose tackle replacement for Tyson Alualu down the road. Davis had a slow start to his Steelers career, starting off the season as a healthy scratch. As injuries piled up though, he eventually earned a helmet and saw the field. He held his own and regularly got a push when trying to stop the run.
Now, assuming the elderly Alualu maintains his role as starting nose tackle, Davis’s playing time will be limited. That said, expect to see a snap increase for the second-year player as he will likely be the first nose tackle backup off the bench. While his only other competition at nose tackle (Isaiah Buggs) does have an extra year of experience, the Steelers clearly favored Buggs down the stretch.
While the depth chart battle for the reserve defensive lineman will be tight, Davis has a clear-cut role as the backup to Alualu. This should result in a healthy snap count anywhere between 150-200 snaps assuming injuries don’t force him onto the field more than that. Long-term, another strong showing this season could put him in line to start once Alualu is gone. Given his age, that could be as early as next season, meaning that Davis could be auditioning for a starting job with his increase in snaps this season.
Quincy Roche
It is rare for a sixth-round pick to be considered a roster lock so early into the offseason, and it is almost unheard of that a sixth-round pick is set to take on a key role on defense. Yet that is exactly what has happened to Quincy Roche since the Steelers selected him. With little competition on the roster, he seems like a safe bet to make the opening roster. With Cassius Marsh being the only other realistic roster option right now, there is a chance that Roche is serving as the top backup at edge rusher.
Some may argue that isn’t an overly important position, but they would be wrong. While T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are the clear-cut starters, Highsmith is relatively unproven, and injuries are always in play for either starter. Throw in the fact that the Steelers like to rotate their starters out to help preserve them, and suddenly a player like Roche could see in the upwards of 30 percent of the defensive snaps (a number Anthony Chickillo used to see as the third outside linebacker).
That kind of a snap count for a sixth-round rookie isn’t anything to ignore. If Roche struggles it will certainly reflect on the defense as they will be more likely to struggle with him on the field. Unless a capable veteran is signed, Roche is slated to see significant playing time as a late-round rookie. If an injury occurs here (something that isn’t uncommon), Roche could be in line to see the most snaps out of everyone on this list.
James Pierre
No Steelers currently on the roster is more intriguing than James Pierre in terms of what his 2021 season will have in store. He was a relatively forgotten about undrafted player last season that shined despite there being no preseason. He did enough to earn a roster spot outright. That alone is a great sign for him as earning a spot in such a difficult offseason was a surprise. He followed that up by eventually working his way up the depth chart, leapfrogging Justin Layne, and eventually seeing defensive snaps late in the season and during the playoffs.
Now, with Hilton and Steven Nelson out the door, Pierre is slated to get the nod at outside cornerback whenever Sutton has to move inside to the slot. Unless the team adds another outside option, he is the favorite to take on this role. This is a huge opportunity for him, as going from a lowly undrafted player with little chance of making the roster to a potential starter in a years’ time screams of the potential he has.
While Layne and the rest of the cornerback depth chart will certainly be vying for his spot as a starter, currently it seems as if this is Pierre’s spot to lose. Being able to count on Pierre to play a significant amount of snaps on defense despite being undrafted will be a huge win for the team. Add in the fact that the Steelers have had notable struggles when drafting a cornerback and having Pierre develop into a starter would be a monumental win for this defense.
While the majority of the Steelers starters and stars were early-round picks, there are plenty of late-round and undrafted players set to take on a notable role this season. The six names on this list were all taken in the sixth round or later and all are poised to be significant contributors in 2021. Here’s to hoping that they outplay their draft status and prove to be gems for this team going forward.