Steelers Combine visit list: Who is Pittsburgh interested in?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have met with a handful of players at the NFL Combine. Here are the players they may be interested in.

Every year, coaches, scouts, and general managers from all 32 teams meet with players at the NFL Combine. Sometimes it’s to do their due diligence in case a player who should already be off the board falls to them, or sometimes it’s because they are trying to clear up any character concerns they may have. Most Combine visits in the Steelers case, however, have to do with a genuine interest in prospects who could be available to them.

Meeting with players at the NFL Combine isn’t the highest predictor of possible draft picks, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Most of the players the Steelers have drafted early under Mike Tomlin have been Combine visits.

Here is a list of players the Steelers have met with so far, according to the Draft Prospect Visit Tracker on Walterfootball.com:

Most of the players the Steelers have met with on this list are projected to go on day two of the NFL Draft. It’s interesting, however, to see how spread out their visits are across positions.

Despite constantly being projected to land a skill player early in the draft, Pittsburgh has personally met with just 2 running backs, 1 receiver, and 1 tight end. Running backs Cam Akers and Zack Moss fit the bill of what the Steelers look for in terms of size, and both runners are projected to land somewhere near the 3rd round of the draft.

Tight end Albert Okwuegbunam was initially thought to be a mid-round draft choice until a blazing 4.49 40-yard dash at 6’5 1/2” and 258 pounds caught the attention of the nation. He could be a day two pick.

It’s interesting, however, to see that the Steelers chose to meet with just one wide receiver – TCU’s Jalen Reagor. Reagor was a player many expected to be long gone before Pittsburgh’s selection at pick 49, but thanks to a few poor numbers in the 3-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle, it’s possible he could slip in the draft. Still, in a loaded wide receiver class, it makes you wonder why they haven’t met with more.

In addition to these skill players, Pittsburgh has met with 2 offensive linemen and 2 edge defenders. Remarkable, they have also used 3 visits in the secondary – a place they don’t really seem to have a need.

Center Llyod Cushenberry has been labeled as one of the best interior offensive linemen in the class. His Senior Bowl film was excellent and he possesses the size and strength to play both center and guard in the NFL.

Josh Uche and Curtis Weaver are both edge defenders who project pretty well into Pittsburgh’s defense. Both players are slated to land somewhere in the second round this year.

It’s impossible to know which players the Steelers came away impressed with, but the fact that they chose to visit with these particular players tells us that there is some type of interest, to begin with. We will learn more as we track Pittsburgh’s Pro Day visits this offseason.