Player: DB Jalen Ramsey
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The way the Steelers’ offseason has gone seems to suit Jalen Ramsey well, positioning him to succeed, maximizing his impact. In fact, it should give the Steelers the opportunity to accentuate his versatility, and thus his unpredictability. On any given snap, he could line up at safety, corner, slot, or in the box. And he could be in one place before the snap and another after.
The Steelers may not have outright said it, but expect them to have Jalen Ramsey all over the field this year. Mike McCarthy did say that his first conversation with Ramsey was about his versatility. That should serve as a pretty big hint, as are their signings this offseason.
With the retention of Asante Samuel Jr. and the additions of Jamel Dean and Jaquan Brisker, the Steelers free themselves to deploy Jalen Ramsey, basically, any way they want. And chances are they’re not going to choose just one way to deploy him, but instead lean into his skill set.
Ramsey may no longer be a prime lockdown cornerback, but he can handle snaps there. Especially if it’s a situation where he rolls down from safety just before the snap, catching the offense off guard. Right now, it seems as though he is ticketed to play in the slot most of the time, assuming a base nickel defense, which seems extremely likely. But he could play safety a lot this year, too—again, that is.
As you will recall, the Steelers moved Jalen Ramsey to safety mid-season last year. They did so by necessity, having run out of other viable safety options. DeShon Elliott suffered a season-ending injury, and Juan Thornhill and Chuck Clark…were not good. Or not good enough, and neither was Jabrill Peppers. So they not only moved Ramsey to safety by traded for Kyle Dugger.
Dugger is now gone, but Elliott is back, and Jaquan Brisker (and Darnell Savage, eventually) are the new safety group, with Jalen Ramsey weaving in and out however the Steelers see fit. And this time around, he should actually get plenty of time to adjust to the position this offseason. He did well enough for adapting on the fly, but having a structured learning process makes a big difference.
With the 2025 season behind us and the new league year underway, we still have stock to take. Already promisinga year of change, they are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation will fundamentally change this football team, including the playoffs on the roster.
After a long season, we have finally seen that this Steelers team is playoff-bound. But they also showed that their progress was actually minimal,since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are they ended the season on a higher note and won the division. But it didn’t help.
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