The Pittsburgh Steelers are certainly doing their homework this offseason as Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert are once again on the road prior to the NFL Draft.
If the Steelers 2022 season is a failure, it won’t be for a lack of effort. Since the free agency legal tampering period began on March 14th, Kevin Colbert has been one of the most active general managers in the NFL.
In addition to bolstering his roster with some significant signings at several positions of need, Colbert has been traveling from one destination to the next in an effort to seek out Pittsburgh’s next first-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Joining him, as always, was head coach, Mike Tomlin. Other personnel like defensive assistant Brian Flores and wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson have also been on hand (as well as a few scouts). Tomlin and Colbert have now gone to three major Pro Days in three straight days: first scoping out the plethora of talent in Georgia before heading up to South Carolina to witness the Clemson draft prospects in action.
On Friday, Pittsburgh’s brass made their third stop on their journey at the Michigan Wolverines Pro Day. This a school that Mike Tomlin obviously has some connections to, and one in which we can expect them to show up just about every year.
These schools have something in common: they each have at least one first-round prospect who could be a legitimate candidate for the Steelers in round one. While the dreams of Georgia DT Jordan Davis slipping to the Steelers this April are probably over, perhaps Pittsburgh is setting their sights on improving the secondary.
Steelers eyeing a defensive back at pick 20?
The one thing that Georgia, Clemson, and Michigan all have in common is they each have an underclassman defensive back who could go in the first round. Not surprisingly, these are all prospects who check nearly every box the Steelers typically look for in a first-round pick.
Georgia has safety in Lewis Cine who many views as a second-round talent but could find his name being drafted much sooner thanks to his rare combination of size and athletic traits. It doesn’t hurt that he’s coming from a championship program.
Likewise, Clemson has a premier cornerback who is projected to go around Pittsburgh’s draft range in Andrew Booth Jr. The physical young cornerback has been linked to the Steelers and he’s on their draft radar now more than ever — even with Ahkello Witherspoon signed and Levi Wallace added in free agency.
For Michigan, safety Daxton Hill is their star defensive pupil. The underclassman was both productive and efficient this past season for the Wolverines. In addition, he tested as a remarkable athlete. He’s very much on their NFL Draft radar at pick 20 if the Steelers don’t sign a big free agent at the safety position prior to the draft.
I still think trading up for a quarterback is very much in the cards, but these three Pro Day visits suggest that a defensive back could be on the radar for the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. We will continue to track Pittsburgh’s Pro Day visits throughout the pre-draft process.