With the 2025 NFL Draft on the horizon and pre-draft visits in the books, we have a great feel for who the Pittsburgh Steelers will be interested in selecting in the first round. Historic trends under Mike Tomlin suggest this team will only select players they have met with at least once throughout the pre-draft process, with top-30 visits and Pro Day dinner meetings holding the most weight.
Sadly, this means we can cross a cluster of talented players off the list who will not be in contention to be the 21st overall pick in the class. These players are worthy of being selected when Pittsburgh is on the clock, and some even come at major positional needs.
But unless the Steelers are willing to break draft trends and select a player they didn't show interest in during the pre-draft process, this isn't happening. Here are five talented NFL Draft prospects Pittsburgh will not consider drafting in Round 1.
The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't show enough interest to take these talented NFL Draft prospects in Round 1
Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri
I've got my questions about Luther Burden III, like everyone else. But it's remarkable how far this uber-athletic wide receiver prospect has slipped down the consensus board. Burden can play in the slot or on the outside and offers elite yards-after-catch ability.
While the Steelers traded for DK Metcalf early in the offseason, George Pickens and Calvin Austin III are entering the final year of their rookie contracts, and Pickens is essentially a one-year rental at this point. Burden would undoubtedly aid an offense that averaged 195.3 passing yards per game (26th in the NFL) and ranked 20th in points per game.
Unfortunately, head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan never expressed an ounce of interest in Burden during the 2025 offseason, and you can officially scratch him off your list as a potential Steelers candidate in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Walter Nolen, DL, Ole Miss
This one is going to anger a lot of fans. Pittsburgh has glaring needs along the interior defensive line, and Walter Nolen, pound for pound, might be the most talented interior defensive lineman in the class. Nolen doesn't have the ideal size metrics the Steelers typically look for (6'3 3/4'', 296 pounds, 32 1/2'' arms), but it doesn't seem to matter.
When you put on the tape, Nolen is remarkably stout at the point of attack and possesses the ability to take on double teams while still finding a way to win the rep. The Ole Miss product comes with some character concerns, and perhaps this is the reason the Steelers shied away from meeting with him during the pre-draft process, but he looks like Jalen Carter on film (and look how well that has worked out for the Eagles).
Nolen would have skyrocketed the floor and ceiling of Pittsburgh's defensive line in 2025, but there has been no interest on the part of the Steelers, and he won't be in contention with the 21st overall pick.
Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
Because of his past reputation and the premium on the cornerback position in the NFL, Will Johnson is unlikely to be available when the Pittsburgh Steelers are on the clock. In 2023, Johnson was expected to be a top-5 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft when projecting forward, but injuries claimed most of his 2024 season.
During the pre-draft process, Johnson's stock dipped a bit, as his arm length came in much shorter than expected (30 1/8'' at the NFL Combine), and he didn't clear up concerns about his timed speed as he elected not to run the 40-yard dash at his pre-draft workout.
All it takes is for a few cornerback-needy teams to pass on him to slide to Pittsburgh, but because they did limited homework on Johnson this offseason, he won't be considered in Round 1.
Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
I know that most fans will brush off Colston Loveland in an instant. The Pittsburgh Steelers have a quality tight end duo with Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, and this position is one of the least of their worries. But if the Steelers were thinking outside the box, they could have seen how Loveland could have been a lethal weapon for their lackluster offense.
At 6'5 3/4'' and 248 pounds, Loveland can run routes and create separation like a wide receiver, while his massive catch radius and huge hands allow him to win consistently at the catch point. The Michigan tight end has tremendous film and is a top-10 player in the class, for my money.
There's only a small chance he falls to pick 21, but this is a tremendous offensive weapon who just turned 21 years old, and the Steelers just need to focus on drafting the best players.
Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan
This will be a throat punch to many Steelers fans, but Kenneth Grant doesn't appear to be in contention for the 21st overall pick in the draft. I would like to put an asterisk next to this name, as Pittsburgh's brass did reportedly meet with Grant before skipping out on Michigan's Pro Day to go meet with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
For a team that surrendered 299 rushing yards in the playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, what better way to fix the run defense than to add a true nose tackle who has the potential to be a three-down player in the NFL?
Grant is the type of run-plugging player this team has been missing since the retirement of Casey Hampton, and while the Steelers have shown a faint amount of interest in him, most would have expected to use one of their 30 visits to bring him into the facility. If Pittsburgh was willing to use nine pre-draft visits on running backs and not a single one on Kenneth Grant, we have to question how serious they are about drafting him.