Player: OL Spencer Anderson
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: The Steelers drafting three offensive lineman is not to the advantage of players like Spencer Anderson. A 2023 seventh-round rookie, he did well simply to earn a roster spot last season. This year he has just as much competition to retain his status, if not more. Rookie draft picks Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier, and Mason McCormick all hurt his roster hopes in different ways.
The Steelers released two offensive linemen from last season’s roster, both former starters. They benched former RT Chukwuma Okorafor before releasing him, but Mason Cole was their incumbent starting center. Good news, perhaps, for fringe linemen like Spencer Anderson.
Not so much, however, when the Steelers replace what they parted with even more bountifully. They used three picks in the first four lines to replenish the offensive line room: one tackle, one guard, and one center. As a five-position player, Anderson’s flexibility is suddenly slightly less valuable.
Assuming Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier, and Mason McCormick all earn roster spots, Spencer Anderson could be battling for one final spot. You have Broderick Jones, Isaac Seumalo, and James Daniels as returning starters. Then you have potentially Dan Moore Jr. and Nate Herbig as your backups. That’s eight players right there.
And that leaves Anderson competing with Dylan Cook for a ninth and final offensive line spot. They’re both position flexible, though Anderson has experience at center, which is not unhelpful. Before drafting Frazier, the Steelers even pretended he might be an option there.
But now that they have their starting center and arguably the future at guard and tackle, where does that leave Anderson? He can Cook may be in the same boat they were in last year: prove good enough to justify parting with veterans.
In 2023, the Steelers traded Kevin Dotson and Kendrick Green at the end of the summer to keep them. This year, they could potentially trade either Moore or Herbig, or they can do neither. Moore is still a possibility to start, and Herbig is, as of now, their top interior reserve. There is a non-zero chance he even opens the season as the starting center. The closest thing to zero, granted, but not quite zero.
If Anderson proves capable of handling basically any direct backup job, he should stick around. Whether that’s tackle, guard, or center, I don’t think it matters. And if he can be the backup to the backup at multiple positions, that may be enough as well.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
