DeShon Elliott
Pittsburgh SteelersUNDERPAIDModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
STM Take
Back-to-back tier 2 finishes (#12, #10) in 2024-2025 as a 190th overall 6th-round pick puts Elliott in the rarest outlier-positive S class. The Texas Big 12 6th-round origin plus the change of scenery to Pittsburgh appears to be the catalyst for the elite breakout. The 2026 question is whether Elliott earns his first Pro Bowl plus holds tier 2 territory or whether the back-to-back peaks were Steelers-context-driven.
Elliott came out of Texas as the Baltimore Ravens' 6th-round pick (190th overall) in 2018. He bounced through the Ravens, Lions, Dolphins, before signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024. His STTM career runs tier 8 (#76) in 2021, tier 8 (#63) in 2022, tier 8 (#70) in 2023, tier 2 (#12) breakout in 2024, and tier 2 (#10) in 2025.
Strengths
- Back-to-back tier 2 finishes (#12, #10) in 2024-2025 as a 190th overall 6th-round pick puts him in the rarest outlier-positive S class.
- Texas Big 12 6th-round origin plus eight years of NFL survival gives him real journeyman veteran market value.
Concerns
- Career STTM range mostly tier 8 across the past three years before the Steelers breakout confirms the structural ceiling is highly team-fit dependent.
- Pittsburgh's broader defensive identity around T.J. Watt's primary pass-rush priority puts continued Elliott production partly dependent on team-fit.
What to watch: Whether Elliott earns his first Pro Bowl in 2026 plus holds tier 2 (top 15), the threshold for confirming the back-to-back ceiling was structural.
Comps
Of his 20 closest coming out: 3 stars, 5 starters, 7 backups, 5 didn't stick.
DeShon Elliott Injury StatusIR
DeShon Elliott is listed on injured reserve (Knee), reported Oct 8, with a return date of Oct 18. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.
Draft & College
He lasted longer than consensus.
Covers the college seasons in our data, which does not always reach back to a player's first year.
Of the 500 players taken as a fifth or sixth-rounder between 2012 and 2021, 26% earned a second contract and 16% became starters. The median one started 2 career games.