With the Steelers now a long shot to make the playoffs, the team would be wise to try and poach these five practice squad players from other teams.
Things seem pretty bleak for the Steelers for the remainder of this season, as their record is middle of the road and an extremely tough end-of-the-year schedule makes the playoff odds for the team seem slim. While poaching other teams’ practice squads is never a good sign for the remainder of the season, it does give the team a chance to add players that they had liked and keep them around for the upcoming offseason.
Here are five players the Steelers should try and poach from opposing practice squads.
Steelers should poach Morris
While the Steelers have their tight end of the future in Pat Freiermuth, the long-term depth at the position is in question. While Zach Gentry has developed well as a blocker, his receiving ability is easily below average. Eric Ebron is the residential pass-catching tight end, but his deal is up after this year so the team will be down an athletic tight end moving forward.
Quintin Morris was one of the more intriguing tight ends from this draft class. Coming out of Bowling Green, the focus on Morris was if he would try and make a full-time shift back to a receiver. His shorter stature and bigger size make him more of an H-back, but he should still have a role as a receiving threat. He can’t block, but with Freiermuth and Gentry in front of him, Morris would be a unique threat. With Ebron out the door in the near future, finding a good receiving option is key. Morris can potentially fill those shoes.
Steelers should poach Wilson
Most saw the Steelers’ defensive line as a strength heading into the draft due to the strong depth at both end and nose tackle. The Steelers did make a move up for Isaiahh Loudermilk, but that was seen as a long-term depth move as opposed to one made out of necessity. Fast-forward to now, and the team is hurting at both end and nose tackle as injuries have ravaged this unit.
One of the best nose tackle prospects in the draft was Marvin Wilson out of Florida State. He had good size for the position and was a fierce run defender. While it wasn’t his strong suit, he could even get after the quarterback on occasion. The issue with him was his motor, as he was a very streaky player in college and seemed to take some plays off. That said, it was still shocking to see him go undrafted.
He has since failed to make a roster and is sitting on the Eagles practice squad right now. While signing him and playing him right away would be a stretch, he could sit and be a candidate to fill in at nose tackle next year. When looking for a poaching target, Wilson fits the bill. He is a rookie with relatively high regard that would fill a hole on the roster. Nose tackle has been shallow this year and will likely be a huge question mark next year, so adding Wilson now makes sense for the long-term depth at the position.
Steelers should poach Muse
The inside linebacker position has been a relatively weak one this season as Devin Bush struggling has given way to the team struggling to stop the run. It got so bad that the team looked to bench Bush for Robert Spillane last week until Spillane left with an injury. With so many question marks at the position, adding a new body makes sense. Buddy Johnson can also see some time active, but another option should be added
A name that makes a lot of sense is Tanner Muse as he currently sits on the Seahawks practice squad. The former Clemson safety came into the league as a linebacker and is a premier athlete at the position. He never got his footing with the Raiders and was released this season. He has played in two games for the Seahawks and has looked good for a special team’s option.
Will Muse fix the Steelers run defense issues? No, as his defensive snaps will likely be limited by the names already on the roster. However, if the team wants to work on developing him for the remainder of this season in hopes of having a potential fit for 2022, Muse makes sense. Add in the Steelers’ heavy interest in Muse during the pre-draft process two years ago and this seems like a good fit for both teams.
Steelers should poach Williams
The Steelers have a lot of talent in their young receiving core, but the one thing they are lacking is a true deep threat. Chase Claypool is an athletic freak, but he uses his size to win deep as opposed to truly burning the corners that he faces. A name that the team had a lot of interest in during this past draft was Seth Williams out of Auburn. While a bigger bodies receiver, Williams tested well and was a notable deep threat while at Auburn.
Williams was taken by the Broncos in the sixth round and currently sits on their practice squad. There aren’t a lot of natural speed freaks sitting on practice squads right now, but Williams would fit that mold. You wouldn’t want him running a traditional route tree, but on streaks he can win over the top or force a safety to help a cornerback, opening up the other receivers underneath.
While he likely wouldn’t see many offensive snaps this season, Williams can sit and be brought to camp next year. While not the long-term goal, his size, and speed could make him a good gunner on special teams, further adding to the value he has. The Steelers are lacking a speed threat on offense, and Williams would help fix some of those issues if he were added.
Steelers should poach Anae
The Steelers had one of the strongest edge groups at the beginning of the year, but with Melvin Ingram traded and a laundry list of injuries to the starters, this group has really suffered. With T.J. Watt now on the Covid list, the team will once again be short a player there and will need to add another body to the roster at some point. Bradlee Anae was one of the sleeper edge rushers in the draft last year and would be a good depth piece for this group.
Anae enjoyed a successful career at Utah before posting a strong 13 sacks as a senior. His athletic testing caused him to fall to the fifth round, but he saw the field in seven games as a rookie and four this year before being waived. He was fine as a rotational defender, but he is more of an upside add as opposed to an established guy. He can chip in on special teams though, meaning that he would have a role on the team if he were added.
While Taco Charlton has been the primary backup and has been fine in that role, Derrick Tuzaka has been below average as a defender. Anae could fight with him for the fourth helmet on gamedays while being a core special teams’ player. Next season he can fight for the third edge rusher role. He is an intriguing name that the Steelers could use given how thin their depth at edge has gotten.
While the Steelers may still be in the playoff hunt on paper, it seems unlikely that the team will truly compete given their current struggles and the difficulty with the remainder of the year. Poaching some young practice squad talent makes sense at this point. These players are unproven but would be carried into camp next season. Long-term, adding some young talent off other practice squads can strengthen this roster for the future.