It's not uncommon to see a new front office come in and wipe away the mistakes of the past. General manager Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl had their first draft with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023, but just a handful of former draft picks remain from the Kevin Colbert era, and a few of them haven't added value to the team despite years of opportunity. DeMarvin Leal is one of them.
In Colbert's final NFL Draft with the Steelers in 2022, the former GM turned in his card in the third round for Leal. Fans scratched their heads at the selection. At 6'3 7/8'' and 283 pounds, the Texas A&M product was a tweener in a bad way—too small to be a full-time interior defender and too slow to be a reliable edge rusher.
Over his first few seasons, the Steelers experimented with Leal, and he's logged snaps on the edge and in the interior defensive line. But now, we're entering year four, and nobody knows what position Leal even plays.
With just one sack and three tackles for a loss to his name in 28 NFL games with Pittsburgh, it's safe to say that Leal will soon be on his way out. The Steelers could finally wash their hands of this failed Kevin Colbert draft pick if these two rookies impress during their first training camp.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could cut DeMarvin Leal if Jack Sawyer and Yahya Black impress at training camp
Part of the draw the Pittsburgh Steelers' coaching staff has to DeMarvin Leal is his versatility to play along the defensive line. When injuries struck edge rushers in recent years, Leal was able to kick outside. He's done the same for the interior line (albeit, with less-than-stellar results).
However, if the Steelers get the desired results out of two 2025 Day 3 draft picks, there will be no reason to keep Leal around for another season.
With their fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Steelers selected Ohio State standout Jack Sawyer. At 6'4 1/4'' and 260 pounds, Sawyer is a better run defender from the edge than he is as a pure pass rusher, and he could prove worthy of being the team's fourth edge rusher—a position that Leal has held at times over the past three years.
If the race between the two is even close this year, the Steelers are far more apt to go with the rookie, with four years on a cheap contract and the chance to prove that he could be more than just a bottom-of-the-roster player.
Likewise, if Yahya Black can ball out during Steelers training camp, there will be even less incentive to keep Leal around. Admittedly, Black and Leal play very different positions along the interior defensive line. Black is a big-bodied run defender who uses his massive frame and impressive power to hold up at the line of scrimmage, while Leal does his best work as a penetrating 3-technique.
Still, adding depth of any kind along the interior defensive line with a player who looks more promising will only prove to be another reason why Leal can hit the road.
Nobody wanted DeMarvin Leal to fail, and we all hoped the former five-star recruit would turn it around. Unfortunately, Leal is going in year four, and the flashes are too few and far between. If rookies Jack Sawyer and Yahya Black can prove worthy of roster spots this year, the Pittsburgh Steelers will finally be able to dump one of the last remaining draft disappointments from the Kevin Colbert era.