Steelers have already washed their hands of this former 3rd-round pick

When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted DeMarvin Leal a few seasons ago, they appeared to have gotten a third-round steal. The former Aggie was once viewed as a first-round pick and a modern-day pass rusher as a defensive lineman.

Fast forward to now and you would be excused for not even remembering he was on the team.

Pittsburgh did Leal few favors. The constant shift from defensive line to edge rusher made development nearly impossible, and an untimely injury took his shot away last year to prove that he was developing.

Following the off-season, it seems like the Steelers are ready to give up Leal, which is unfortunate given the potential he had.

The Pittsburgh Steelers got little out of DeMarvin Leal

This was the Steelers' most recent trial with a tweener player, and the team has a history of failing miserably with those types of picks. Dri Archer comes to mind as another failed hybrid from a handful of years ago.

Leal has put together a stronger career than Archer, but that isn’t saying much. He saw reps as a situational defensive tackle as a rookie before injuries forced him to play some edge. The team apparently liked that versatility more than trying to develop him in one spot, as both positions became his home after his rookie season.

Unfortunately, he fell into the master-of-none category, as he never took notable steps as a defensive lineman or an edge rusher. Now, he finds himself in an incredibly crowded room with no clear direction.

The Steelers overhauled their defensive line in both free agency and the draft. Tough cuts will already have to be made, and Leal seems like a distant thought in that room. As for the edge room, Jack Sawyer is all but certain to be the fourth edge rusher.

Even if the team keeps five, Jeremiah Moon would likely be preferred due to his special-teams ability. Leal isn’t on the outside looking in; he feels like a bottom-of-the-roster option.

At this point, he could be cut at any time, and I hope that a team with a better plan signs him. There are some tools there, but he never materialized, and the Steelers did him few favors. Considering how the rest of the 2022 draft class looks, he fits right in as yet another bust.