The Pittsburgh Steelers have some quality contributors that have helped them this season, but these five players offer almost nothing to the team in 2021.
After a disappointing start to the 2021 season that had NFL analysts already writing Pittsburgh off as a playoff contender, the Steelers have since turned things around. However, it was done almost solely without the help of a few players they were counting on this season.
While some Steelers players are on pace to have their best season yet, others have been essentially no benefit at all on the roster this year. Here are five players who have offered the team almost nothing in 2021:
Steelers RB Benny Snell
Over his first two years, Benny Snell was a big letdown. Fans were excited about the former workhorse back from Kentucky, but I had my doubts because of his 4.66 speed and lack of big-play ability.
As it turns out, Snell hasn’t been enough between the tackles to warrant this pick and he has offered nothing to this team as a change of pace runner. The Steelers were hoping that would change in his third season in a smaller role behind first-round pick, Najee Harris. Unfortunately, Snell has been even less efficient.
Through his first 7 games of the 2021 season, Snell has chipped in just 8 carries for 21 yards (2.6 yards per carry), and has caught just 1 of 3 targets for 7 yards. Snell is a capable special teams player, but his role on the team is extremely replaceable.
Steelers TE Eric Ebron
Steelers fans had very high hopes for Eric Ebron when he joined the team as a free agent following the 2019 season. With the Indianapolis Colts, Ebron earned Pro Bowl honors in 2018 for his 750-yard, 13-touchdown performance with Andrew Luck under center. Sadly, it’s been all downhill from there for the veteran tight end.
Though Ebron had a respectable year on the Steelers in 2020, he didn’t offer nearly as much as fans were hoping for, and drops continued to be an issue. So far this season, Ebron has been even worse — catching just 7 of 13 passes for 47 yards (6.7 yards per catch).
Ebron had a huge third-down drop early in the season and he can’t seem to reel in the ball in congested situations. In addition, his blocking has been even worse than his receiving, and he’s clearly the worst blocking tight end on the roster.
With the rapid emergence of rookie Pat Freiermuth and the sound blocking and in-line play from Zach Gentry, Ebron has become an afterthought on this team. The former 10th overall pick by the Lions will still get his snaps, but it would appear he has almost nothing left to offer this team moving forward.
Steelers OT Zach Banner
So Either the Steelers think that Chukwuma Okorafor is playing much better than he is, or Zach Banner still isn’t healthy and ready to go. Either way, fans have to be disappointed that the big offensive tackle hasn’t been able to see the football field since Week 1 of the 2020 season.
This is even more concerning when you factor in his two-year, $9.5 million contract he received over the offseason (after tearing his ACL). Banner has just two starts by the age of 27, and the Steelers haven’t come close to getting their money’s worth out of his deal.
Perhaps this is because Banner isn’t ready to make a full return yet. Even if/when Banner is completely healthy, expectations shouldn’t be too high. After all, this is a journeyman offensive tackle who has been on three different football teams before the Steelers decided to pay him.
My hope is that Banner turns out to be the starting-caliber right tackle the Pittsburgh Steelers paid him as. However, as of now, it’s hard to argue that he’s had anything to offer this team.
Steelers WR/PR Ray-Ray McCloud
Ray-Ray McCloud hasn’t been a complete non-factor for this team. He still is able to offer the Steelers a respectable option on punt returns. Unfortunately, every other aspect of his game is lacking, and McCloud has offered nothing on offense this year.
For some reason or another, the Steelers still elect to use McCloud for a good deal of snaps on offense. Through 7 games in 2021, McCloud has 152 snaps — just 13 shy of what he had in 16 games last season. In fact, he has nearly surpassed James Washington in this department.
Sadly, the fruits of his labor have been non-existent. Despite being on the field for 1 out of every 3 offensive snaps, McCloud has just 54 receiving yards on the season (7.7 per game). This simply is not good enough for a player who has seen as many snaps as McCloud. In addition, Ray-Ray has touched the ball just one time as a runner this year on offense.
The Steelers would be wise to find a better option than Ray-Ray McCloud and his presence or absence from the field doesn’t move the needle one way or the other for Pittsburgh.
Steelers CB Ahkello Witherspoon
Fans were once again praising Kevin Colbert for being able to land a player like Ahkello Witherspoon with a fifth-round pick. Just last season, Witherspoon was a quality cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers who graded out as the 6th-best cornerback in the National Football League, according to Pro Football Focus.
Sadly, 2021 has been a very different story. After acquiring Witherspoon from the Seahawks before he even played a game in Seattle, the long, athletic cornerback has seen the field for just 4 defensive snaps this season and has earned a helmet in even fewer games.
In his only action, he surrendered 61 yards and a touchdown against the Raiders, via Pro Football Reference. Pittsburgh apparently had no plan when they traded for Witherspoon, and the decision to do so is now looking like an awful move.
This is a player who the team clearly hasn’t had anything to offer so far, and I’m not sure if that changes, barring injuries in the second half of the season.
Obviously, we hope that these five players can find a way to turn things around and make an impact on this team in 2021, but if trend continues, these are five players the Steelers could simply do without.