Steelers Stock Report: 2025 Training Camp Edition

This is the first in a series of weekly articles that will take us through Steelers training camp to the beginning of the 2025 regular season. We’ll analyze what is trending based on actual performance or mere sentiment about all Pittsburgh Steelers related coaches, players, and circumstances using a nifty analogy to the stock market. Said players, coaches, or quirky happenings surrounding the team will be placed in category variations based on “Stock Up,” “Stock Down,” or “Unchanged” (with maybe a few surprise designations here and there.)

Reminder- These observations/ predictions are based on one man’s faulty opinion. Before actually psychologically investing in stated trends, one should get professional advice. (i.e- from your wife, girlfriend, bartender, three year old, or anyone generally more stable and wise than the writer of this article.)

Let’s get started.

As of Tuesday, July 22, 2025, the eve of Steelers Training Camp, the collective Steelers business gurus have determined the following:

STOCK UP:

GM Omar Khan– Truth is, since the season and camp haven’t actually started, every one of these assessments could be categorized as “have to wait and see” and the ‘Khan Man’s’ work over the last few months is likely the greatest example of such. Having said that- it truly seems like the days of yawnsville nothingness of the Steelers typical off seasons last took place decades ago. True to form for the current GM, we have had another off season for the ages where Omar has successfully brought in a legendary yet ridiculously inexpensive QB, two accomplished Cornerbacks, one of whom is almost as certain for the Hall of Fame, and a Pro-Bowl Tight End all while turning loose two underperforming QB’s, one potentially underperforming Safety, and a walking cyclone of one part piss to ten parts vinegar in WR George Pickens. He did the internal FA thing as well- extending one of the greatest OLB’s the black and gold has ever had (which is saying more than any other team in league history can say). And he did all of this in a way where almost every contract and trade can be viewed as a win for the home team in one way or another without destroying future prospects. OH!- and how could I forget- he brought in one of the strongest, biggest bodied and well performing receivers in the entire league, too, which leads us to our next stock pick…

DK Metcalf– Since hiring Arthur Smith as their Offensive Coordinator, much of the hopeful takes have been based on reflections of his successful Tennessee Titan teams, where he held the same position. Those offenses had three big cogs: A great running game featuring Derrick Henry, a smart QB with a good long ball in Ryan Tannehill, and a mature, big bodied field stretching nightmare who could also block in WR AJ Brown. Metcalf is at least a competent comparison to Brown, and may prove to be a near twin of the current Eagle star with Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball. Speaking of which…

Aaron Rodgers- Yes, I know that general sentiment may not be “way up” on the Steelers new, old QB, but I still think he is generally a good pick to start trending up almost immediately upon camp commencement. Regardless of how much you think he has “left in the tank” or your perception of his off field opinions, he’s likely to benefit from recency comparison if nothing else. He’ll quickly be seen as more in command, smarter, and more precise in all things related to throwing the football when considering who the Steelers have had behind center for the last three seasons. All it will take is a couple very pretty long balls to the formerly mentioned DK and some clearly victorious 7 shots sessions (something qb’s have struggled to obtain at almost all training camps the last few years) and the future will be bright and sunny on our aged one.

Zach Frazier- The offseason buzz generated after an excellent rookie campaign has certainly sent our young leader soaring higher than any second year player since Maurkice Pouncey, the hero his one year performance harkens back upon due to playing the same position. The only blemish on him was the two and a half game pause caused by the ankle injury sustained against the Raiders last year. The best and most highly praised Steeler linemen are not just talented but made of iron. As of this moment in the basking of his rising star, there may be some that forgot he actually missed almost fifteen percent of last season. But, if it happens again, this stock pick might become rather volatile.

Minkah Fitzpatrick- He was widely considered an underperformer worthy of significant concern and little, if any, trade value at the end of last season. But an offseason of defensive scheme analysis, a nod to the Pro-Bowl that truly might have been name recognition at a position of declining emphasis in the NFL, and good old PFF reports brought him toward respectability in a mere couple of months. And then he was actually traded and, despite the significant return haul/ potential for a true winning exchange for the Steelers, he was suddenly perceived as an elite talent yet again as well as the heart and soul of the Steelers secondary to many fans and media. This then triggered great angst about the back half prospects Pittsburgh plans to field this year. Honestly. This is one of the crazier rides I’ve witnessed in recent memory.

The Entire Rookie Class- This is likely the case nearly every off season and, perhaps, for nearly every NFL fanbase. But, for now, without ever having played a single professional snap: Derrick Harmon is absolutely Cam Heyward’s replacement; Kaleb Johnson will be, at the very minimum, Derrick Henry “lite”; Jack Sawyer should have already made TJ Watt expendable, Yahya Black is a reconstituted Casey Hampton, and Will Howard might have personally cut Skyler Thompson simply by showing up to mini-camp with breath in his lungs. Even seventh rounder Carson Bruener gets an extra bump of positive enthusiasm based on the legacy of his father with the team. However, if there’s one thing training camps do, it’s set more realistic expectations. History has taught us that, maybe, one of these stocks will remain high but several (or most) of these will only be so, so. AND, chances are, at least one of them will greatly disappoint/ bust in the end.

STOCK DOWN:

T.J. Watt- It’s almost impossible to believe, but all it takes for a perennial All-Pro to lose momentum in expectation is to turn the dreaded “three-oh” and sign a contract commensurate with his overall performance minus some games he played through injury previously. Though it’s likely the rumors of his demise are greatly exaggerated, everything from said injury to the fact he doesn’t move enough around the DL (despite the fact he never did before and was still other-worldly) has rendered his stock a pick piled high with more skepticism than T.J. has probably ever entered a camp with yet. (Thankfully, he seems to quietly play with the biggest chip of maybe any Steeler.) Expect this stock to go up in a hurry when the regular season starts.

Beanie Bishop- The arrival of Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay have completely shaken up the Steeler CB room, and the general consensus is that if Ramsey is not moved back to Safety ala Rod Woodson, Beanie Bishop will become ‘Beanie Benchwarmer’ or maybe even ‘Beanie Bye-bye’. Beanie surprised everyone last year to do as well as he did despite being undrafted. But that “despite” in the last sentence carries a lot of weight. His overall performance was not what the Steelers needed there, and they obviously worked hard to rectify that this off-season by bringing in a complement of potential replacements whether by position or scheme.

Teryl Austin- Despite the offensive failings during the last five games of last year, the utter catastrophic collapse of the defense in the playoff game against the Ravens turned the focus of many heatedly against the DC- even more than Pat Meyer, the offensive line coach. Truth is the defense really does seem like something ripped right from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of 2003 vintage. Unfortunately, as good as they were, the Steelers defense of last year did not have players the likes of Prime Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and John Lynch on the roster like that Buc’ defense did. Of course there was one other name on that 2003 ‘Tampa Two’ staff that the Steelers actually did have last year…

Mike Tomlin- The overwhelming external perception is that the above mentioned vanilla defensive scheme is Tomlin’s doing. And the truth is Tomlin is likely to see his stock rise very little, if at all, for months no matter what the team does. This is due to many factors but the primary is the overwhelming number of Steeler collapses taking place in the very last part of the season. As such, Mike is in the unenviable place whereby no one is likely to trust their eyes until mid December at least- and maybe not even then- so utterly sudden and devastating have the team’s demises been. He might see a slight bump if the Steelers are dominating in most weeks on both sides of the ball- but even then- I’m not so sure. There might not be enough Tomlinisms left in the universe to spare Mike the stock cellar for the foreseeable future. But- who knows how fleeting our hearts and memories might turn out to be if the Steelers are absolutely crushing it through most of October?

UNCHANGED

Wide Receiver 2- And so, yet another camp comes upon us with questions about the WR room. Whether it’s been antics of players off (and sometimes on) (and other times not exactly on the field but rather on the sideline), or a lack of actual talent, or further antics of the FO seemingly attempting to trade for every human being that was ever just slightly less effective than another human being on some other team’s WR roster…here we are again. Maybe Calvin Austin is ready to truly, honestly break out? Or maybe Aaron Rodgers known ability to use/ make use of many different types of receivers over the years will raise someone like Austin or Roman Wilson higher? Or maybe newly acquired TE Jonnu Smith is like a competent WR2 in disguise? Or maybe the Steelers will pull off one more big trade this off season for one of those clear WR2’s? No matter what- here we are asking the same questions yet again as training camp revs up.

STOCK MISSING AND, LIKELY, HAS BEEN TAKEN OFF THE MARKET: 

Mason Rudolph- Can you stretch back far in your memory to two, whole months ago, before Gandolph the Gray was signed as the Steelers QB? The fan base was firmly optimistic about the hero of 2023. Men were declaring their allegiance with statements such as “Finally- he’s earned it!,” “It’s about time!,” and “Tennessee who?..I don’t think that ever actually happened.” Meanwhile, multiple local social media outlets and publications literally quoted Pittsburgh women breathlessly fawning over his good looks. Even his momma was causing a stir based on her own beauty and the loving devotion she earned from her son. But, alas and yet again, Mason has been relegated once more to the “Oh, yeah” portion of public opinion on the eve of camp. The current third/ fourth stringer Howard is looked at with more hopefulness than the Pittsburgh Christmas Miracle Worker of just two seasons ago. If ever there was a ‘stock option’ to pick, it seems Mason Rudolph is doomed to be perpetually picked with an emphasis on the “optional” every July.

Pittsburgh Steeler Epic Arrival Vehicle Competition- Whatever happened to the dramatic “one up manship” of the Steelers camp arrivals??!? I guess when Brett Keisel showed up in a Kubota Front Loader, everyone finally said, “Nah…I’ll never top that.” Oh well…

But what say you? Who else would you put on the list of ups and downs? What did I miss? How big of an idiot am I? There’s certainly much, much to look forward to this year as camp gets kicked off. It might even be one of the most intriguing we’ve seen in years. I hope you’re as excited as I am about this year- see you next week!