Recent expectations for Pittsburgh Steelers undrafted free agents have been set low. There’s been the occasional hit with RB Jaylen Warren and CB James Pierre, but the number of competitive UDFAs to even hang around the roster for more than a few months has been low.
Carried over from Kevin Colbert to Omar Khan, the Steelers put themselves at a disadvantage. Offering only small signing bonuses to entice players to sign as opposed to partial base salary guarantees, Pittsburgh loses out on most of the top names. That’s made its classes smaller and worse.
The 2026 group was no different. Immediately after the draft, it was comprised of just six names. Hardly any were headliners.
A month before training camp even begins, the group of six is down to four. Two have already been cut: Arizona State TE Chamon Metayer and Missouri ILB Daylan Carnell. Both were long shots even by UDFA standards. They received the smallest signing bonuses of the class: Metayer $10,000 and Carnell $5,000. On tape, neither stood out. Metayer brought size and some run-after ability but is a marginal athlete and awfully poor blocker. Carnell’s tape didn’t look much better.
What are the odds for the other four? Kicker Laith Marjan is part of the group and has next to no path to sticking. Understandable for a kicker who is behind Chris Boswell, and maybe Marjan doubles back to Pittsburgh down the road as other Steelers UDFA kickers have. Matthew Wright is one notable example. But by the time the Week 1 roster is finalized, Marjan is near-certain to be off the team.
That leaves three: CB Devan Boykin, DL Kevin Jobity Jr., and TE Lake McRee. That trio is a little more promising. Boykin started for the national champion Indiana Hoosiers. Jobity’s tape was solid and impressive. McRee was a draftable talent hindered by two torn ACLs. Still, it’s a narrow path for Pittsburgh to get anything out of its group to stick.
The expectation isn’t for every UDFA to turn into a gem. Those odds are naturally low. But the group is expected to be competitive with some portion of it sticking around. Most years, the Steelers’ group has trouble simply making the practice squad. Let alone grabbing a spot on the 53 and let alone making any significant impact.
The latecomers could provide a boost. Pittsburgh added C Greg Crippen out of rookie minicamp and inked CB Tamon Lynum shortly thereafter. The Steelers also got better in replacing Metayer and Carnell by adding veterans in TE Robert Tonyan and ILB Jacoby Windmon. That’s at least positive.
Pittsburgh’s lackluster UDFA groups continue to be a source of frustration. It won’t doom the Steelers’ chances to compete, and in fairness, the roster has gotten better in other ways. But the franchise should be competitive in every part of roster building. Pittsburgh falls short here. The small 2026 group has already been whittled down, an ominous trend before the pads even come on.
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