Player: S Jaquan Brisker
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Not only does Jaquan Brisker get to play for his hometown team, but he is also liking his more versatile role. Now in his fifth season in the NFL, he compared the way the Steelers intend to use him favorably to his time in Chicago. More to the point, it indicates they view him as an integral part of the defense, potentially beyond 2026.
It would be a dream, I’m sure, for Jaquan Brisker to play the remainder of his career starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team he grew up around, grew up watching, grew up cheering for, he’s now part of that lineage. While he is only on a one-year deal, he hopes to spend many more here before he hangs it up.
Not just because it’s Pittsburgh, but because of what the Steelers are letting him do. Jaquan Brisker talked about new DC Patrick Graham letting him play “free”, saying what he’s doing here is “way different”, in a good way, from what the Bears allowed him to do.
Just last year, the Steelers gave Jalen Ramsey a much more versatile role than before. They did the same for Patrick Peterson before. Jaquan Brisker is much younger than both, just 27 years old, so one hopes he has a better time adjusting.
Not that they’ll be asking him to do anything crazy—just the full breadth of his position. Brisker will still be a safety, but he’ll also play in the slot, in the box, and on the edge. He’ll do a little bit of everything—sometimes multiple roles within a play.
The important element is that it shows the Steelers believe in Jaquan Brisker. He’s not just a one-year rental, even if he ends up being here for only one year. For the 2026 season, he is a full-fledged starter and key cog in this defense. Whatever happens beyond this season is up to him, the coaches, and the money men. And if he prices himself out of the Steelers’ market in 2027, the money will be some consolation, I’m sure.
With the 2026 offseason well underway and many moves made, we have stock to take. Already promising a year of change, the Steelers are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation has fundamentally changed this football team, including the players on the roster.
After a long season, the Steelers showed the ability to win the division and make the playoffs. But they also showed that their progress was 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 that they ended the season on a higher note and won the AFC North. But it didn’t help.
