Chris

Wormley

He’ll likely head to injured reserve sometime this week. Wormley has been a solid run-downs defender for the Steelers, with a 78.2 run defense rating per PFF and 29 tackles in 13 games. He had seven sacks last season. Wormley will be a free agent after the season and, rehabbing a torn ACL, may not be a priority for anyone early in free agency.

Acquired from the Ravens last March, Wormley contributed 148 snaps his first season in Pittsburgh, notching a sack in Week 17 when the Steelers gave more playing time to their backups. Headed into his age-28 campaign, Wormley will remain a lightly-used role player even after the Steelers lost a decent amount of defensive talent in free agency.

Wormley has started 15 games since the Ravens drafted him in the third round of the 2017 draft. He’s failed to make too much of a difference as a pass rusher, totaling just 2.5 sacks and nine QB hits along the way. Still, Wormley will provide solid depth to a Steelers front seven that struggled to pressure the QB in 2019 without sending numerous blitzers.

Wormley (6’5/298) made 30 starts for the Wolverines, piling up 33 tackles for loss with 18 sacks and first-team All-Big Ten honors from the conference’s coaches as a senior. Wormley has long arms (34 1/8") and big hands (10 ½") and posted the highest SPARQ rating among all draft-eligible defensive linemen with 94th-percentile results. Wormley is old-ish for a rookie (24 in October) and doesn’t show explosive twitch on tape, but he was consistently productive versus top competition, and NFL coaching could maximize his potential. Rotoworld’s Josh Norris has compared him to stud Steelers DE Cameron Heyward.

The first of Baltimore’s two third-rounders, Wormley posted the highest SPARQ rating among draft-eligible linemen. He projects as an immediate contributor on a defense that needs to fill Timmy Jernigan’s snaps. With Wormley under contract, Tim Williams is the Ravens’ only unsigned pick.