The Pittsburgh Steelers continued their scouting journey ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft. After meeting with a pair of wildly different quarterback prospects last week, Pittsburgh's brass is bringing in a player who was once one of the most well-known and well-respected defenders in college football.
On Monday, FanSided senior contributor Ryan Fowler reported that the Steelers are hosting LSU linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. for a 30-visit. Perkins also plans to meet with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Coming out of Cy Park High School in 2022, Perkins was the No. 1 linebacker recruit and No. 1 overall recruit from the state of Texas (No. 5 overall recruit nationally), per 247Sports. The dynamic playmaker was electrifying early in his NFL career.
In 14 games as an 18-year-old freshman in 2022, the hybrid linebacker/edge rusher recorded 72 tackles with 13.0 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks. Unfortunately, an ACL injury in September 2024 quickly derailed his promising college career and tanked his draft stock.
Now the Steelers could be looking at the ultimate comeback prospect in the NFL Draft.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could select LSU's Harold Perkins Jr. in the 2026 NFL Draft
The Steelers aren't afraid to take chances in the draft on players with injury histories. Omar Khan turned his card in for Cory Trice Jr., who had multiple knee and ankle injuries dating back to his high school days. Meanwhile, the Steelers took a chance on players like Payton Wilson, Troy Fautanu, and Darnell Washington over the past three drafts, despite medical red flags.
Perkins is a polarizing prospect—not only due to the knee injury in 2024, but because he's extremely undersized for a linebacker. At the NFL Combine, Perkins measured in at 6'1'' and 223 pounds, and his 8 1/8'' hands are the smallest of any linebacker on record in Mockdraftable's Combine database.
Though his best trait might be getting after the quarterback from rushing off the edge, Perkins hardly has a frame large enough to hold up as an edge rusher in the NFL, and his weight is only in the fourth percentile among linebackers. Thus, Perkins might have to act as a pseudo safety—something in the form of a discounted Jamal Adams.
More likely than not, Perkins' path to an NFL roster will be on special teams. The undersized player was miraculous at times for the LSU Tigers, but he's not a great athlete by NFL standards. That hasn't stopped the Steelers from showing interest.
Perkins is a tweener in a bad way, but has shown the ability to do anything from stand up inside to rush off the edge to line up at slot cornerback. With currently 12 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, taking a flier on the former five-star recruit might be a worthwhile investment for the Steelers.
In Pittsburgh, Perkins would likely carve out a role on special teams early in his career. If he's able to stick on the roster, he would attempt to work his way up the linebacker depth chart to see the field for a subpackage role.
Perkins was once considered a potential top pick in the NFL Draft. Injuries and size concerns have caused him to plummet on draft boards, but the Pittsburgh Steelers could take a big swing by drafting him this April after their latest pre-draft top-30 visit.