Who have the Steelers been eyeballing for the upcoming draft?
Over the past few months, we’ve spent a great deal of time, effort and imagination examining the upcoming draft. All of this has been done using various combine and other events as evidence as to exactly who the Steelers might be interested in. Of course, that didn’t prevent us from forming opinions about other players the Steelers could be looking at too!
At this point, there is more evidence on who might be on the Steelers radar – made up of which pro days the Steelers have sent representatives to, who they might have met with at those pro days and any official meetings/visits that may have been scheduled.
The table below lists the pro day for the schools the Steelers have visited, who attended, and the likely targets that they in whom they have shown interest. Names in bold represent high probability interest based on an actual meeting with the player at the pro day, whereas players in regular font indicate limited interest. If no one is listed as a representative it simply means that the Steelers were reported in attendance, but no one indicated specifically who was attending.
| University/School | Steelers Representatives | Potential Targets |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Kevin Colbert | O.J. Howard (TE) Dalvin Tomlinson (DL) Ar’Darius Stewart (WR) Ryan Anderson (OLB) Jonathan Allen (DL) Reuben Foster (ILB) Marlon Humphrey (CB) |
| Ashland | James Daniel (TE Coach) | Adam Shaheen (TE) |
| Auburn | Kevin Colbert Mike Tomlin Joey Porter (LB Coach) |
Carl Lawson (OLB) |
| BYU | Jamaal Williams (RB) | |
| California | Chad Hansen (WR) Davis Webb (QB) |
|
| Central Florida | Shaquill Griffin (CB) | |
| Clemson | Kevin Colbert Mike Tomlin |
Wayne Gallman (RB) Jordan Leggett (TE) Cordrea Tankersley (CB) Carlos Watkins (DL) |
| Colorado | Scouts | Chidobe Awuzie (CB) Ahkello Witherspoon (CB) |
| Colorado State | Kevin Davis (LB) | |
| East Carolina | Zay Jones (WR) | |
| Florida | Kevin Colbert Jerry Olsavsky (LB Coach) |
Quincy Wilson (CB) Teez Tabor (CB) Alex Anzalone (ILB) Caleb Brantley (DL) Jarrad Davis (ILB) Marcus Maye (S) |
| Florida State | Dalvin Cook (RB) Demarcus Walker (OLB) Marquez White (CB) |
|
| Georgia | Isaiah McKenzie (WR) | |
| Houston | Tyus Bowser (OLB) Howard Wilson (CB) |
|
| Indiana | Scout | Dan Feeney (G) |
| Jackson State | Javancy Jones (ILB) | |
| Kansas State | Scout | Jordan Willis (OLB) Elijah Lee (ILB) |
| Kentucky | Stanley Williams (RB) Jon Toth (C) |
|
| Louisville | Unknown | Devonte Fields (OLB) Josh Harvey-Clemons (S) |
| Marshall | Deandre Reaves (WR) Devon Johnson (RB) |
|
| Miami (Fla) | Kevin Colbert | Brad Kaaya (QB) Corn Elder (CB) Rayshawn Jenkins (S) Stacy Coley (WR) David Njoku (TE) |
| Michigan | Kevin Colbert Mike Tomlin |
Chris Wormley (DL) Taco Charlton (DE) De’Veon Smith (RB) Jabrill Peppers (S) Jake Butt (TE) |
| Michigan State | Riley Bullough (ILB) Malik McDowell (DT) |
|
| Missouri | Joey Porter (LB Coach) | Charles Harris (OLB) |
| N.C. State | Josh Jones (S) Matt Dayes (RB) |
|
| North Carolina | Kevin Colbert Randy Fichtner (QB Coach) |
TJ Logan (RG) Elijah Hood (RB) Nazair Jones (DL) Ryan Switzer (WR) Mitch Trubisky (QB) |
| Notre Dame | Todd Haley (OC) | DeShone Kizer (QB) |
| Ohio State | Mike Tomlin | Raekwon McMillian (ILB) Gareon Conley (CB) Marshon Lattimore (CB) |
| Oklahoma | James Saxon (RB Coach) | Samaje Perine (RB) |
| Oklahoma State | Ashton Lampkin (CB) | |
| Oregon State | Victor Bolden Jr. (WR) Treston Decoud (CB) |
|
| Penn State | Chris Godwin (WR) Garrett Sickels (OLB) |
|
| Pitt | James Conner (RB) Dorian Johnson (G) Ejuan Price (OLB) Nathan Peterman (QB) |
|
| Rice | Darik Dillard (RB) J.T. Blasingame (CB) |
|
| San Diego State | Donnel Pumphrey (RB) Damontae Kazee (CB) |
|
| USC | Carnell Lake (Secondary Coach) | Adoree’ Jackson (CB) JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR) Damien Mama (G) |
| South Florida | James Saxon (RB Coach) | Marlon Mack (RB) |
| Stanford | Solomon Thomas (OLB) Christian McCaffrey (RB) |
|
| Temple | Haason Reddick (ILB) Dion Dawkins (G) |
|
| Tennessee | Mike Tomlin Keith Butler |
Cameron Sutton (CB) Jalen Reeves-Maybin (ILB) Derek Barnett (OLB) |
| Texas | James Saxon (RB Coach) | D’Onta Foreman (RB) |
| Texas Tech | Randy Fichtner (QB Coach) | Patrick Mahomes (QB) |
| Toledo | James Daniel (TE Coach) | Michael Roberts (TE) |
| UCLA | Takkarist McKinley (OLB) Eddie Vanderdoes (DL) Fabian Moreau (CB) |
|
| UConn | Obi Melifonwu (S) | |
| Utah | Isaac Asiata (G) Garett Boiles (OT) Joe Williams (RB) Marcus Williams (S) Hunter Dimick (OLB) |
|
| Washington | John Ross (WR) Budda Baker (S) Sidney Jones (CB) Kevin King (CB) JoJo Mathis (OLB) Eligah Qualls (DL) |
|
| West Virginia | Carnell Lake | Rasul Douglas (CB) |
| Wisconsin | Kevin Colbert Mike Tomlin Joey Porter (LB Coach) |
Vince Biegel (OLB) T.J. Watt (OLB) Corey Clement (RB) |
| Youngstown State | Joey Porter (LB Coach) Scouts |
Derek Rivers (OLB) Avery Moss (OLB) |
When you look at those pro day visits, and you look specifically at the prospects the Steelers met with during those visits, does it shed any light on things?
They met with five OLB prospects: Taco Charlton (iffy, more of DE), Vince Biegel, T.J. Watt, Devonte Fields and Carl Lawson.
They met with three TE prospects (Njoku, Butt, and Roberts).
They rounded that out with two DL prospects (Wormley and Watkins) one S (Maye) and two QB prospects (Kaaya and Mahomes).
Don’t think I’m giving too much away to think that the Steelers are interested in pass rushers who can play OLB. The only chance at Taco, who I think is questionable, is 30. Lawson is only going to be on the board at 30. Fields and Biegel will be available in the second, maybe even the third. Watt is a question mark. Some teams and scouts love him, some are not convinced based on just one year of production from J.J.’s younger brother. He might be gone before 30, might be there at 30, and might possibly still be around at 62 (probably not, though).
Meeting with 3 different TE’s is interesting. Roberts will certainly be around in the mid-late rounds, and Butt will likely still be available in the third. The only chance they have at Njoku is, I believe, at 30, and I don’t think they’ll spend the pick on a TE at that point, but clearly they are interested in the kid.
Wormley will probably be available in rounds 1 or 2, and again, I don’t think that’s likely, but Watkins will be available in the third and potentially in the fourth.
Kaaya could still be on the board in the fifth round.
Last year, Tomlin and Colbert took Artie Burns out for dinner, he also came in for a pre-draft visit, and he ended up being the first round pick. Sean Davis came in for an “official” pre-draft visit, and he ended up the second round pick. Third round pick Javon Hargrave also came in for an official visit, as did fourth rounder Jerald Hawkins.
In 2014, first round pick Bud Dupree was a visitor to the South Side facility prior to being drafted. Senquez Golson (second), Sammie Coates (third), Doran Grant (fourth) and even Jesse James (fifth) were all pre-draft visitors.
In fact, if you go back through the Steelers draft history under Tomlin and Colbert, they rarely, if ever, use a top level pick (rounds 1 – 4) on a prospect who hasn’t been a pre-draft visitor to Pittsburgh.
The fact that they met with some of these young men during their pro days is certainly an indication of interest, but the best indicator of the pool of talent that the Steelers are likely to draw from will come when they have finished all their pre-draft visits.
Conclusion
There will be players who come in for a visit that the Steelers are doing their due-diligence on, but who they know they have no chance of selecting, or perhaps even no desire to select. They do things the right way, and they will have their board stacked so that they have a large number of picks slated at each position in the draft, weighted by whatever mysterious formula they use to determine the value of a player.
If the player they have targeted as their best value is there when they pick, the process is pretty easy. If, as is often the case, something unforeseen happens (as it did when Bud Dupree and David DeCastro slipped), they may have to re-adjust their thinking.
I’ve said (as have most draft prognosticators) that the Steelers will go OLB/CB in the first and second. I believe that is still the case, despite the fact that there is not a single CB listed above whom they met with at this point.
If I had to guess, I’d say Lawson is high on their list and Watt. But they have their eyes on others as well (Rivers, Willis, Bowser, etc.). Once the pre-draft visits are finished, the pool will be narrowed to its final contestants, and we will probably be the closest we are going to get to knowing who they Steelers plan on picking prior to the announcement being read out loud.
https://www.steelcityunderground.com/guides/steelers-war-room-inside-pittsburgh-steelers-plans-2017-nfl-draft/
Inside The Pittsburgh Steelers plans for the 2017 NFL Draft
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