Securing a soon-to-be 30-year-old Jamel Dean in free agency and retaining Asante Samuel Jr. on a one-year contract won't stop the Pittsburgh Steelers from pursuing the cornerback position in the NFL Draft—and potentially early. While the team is suddenly in good shape for the present, general manager Omar Khan will want a cornerback he can pair with Joey Porter Jr. long term.
The Steelers have already been busy scouting cornerback prospects ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft. On Monday, members of the front office—including Director of College Scouting Dan Colbert and scout Ike Taylor—were spotted at Miami's Pro Day, observing CB Keionte Scott.
This is a player Pittsburgh could fall in love with. Scott is a remarkable tackler with outstanding physicality to his game, particularly as a run defender. His performance at his Pro Day could have the Steelers falling head over heels for Scott.
The Miami Hurricanes' X account posted that Scott ran an official 4.33 in the 40-yard dash at the Miami Pro Day on Monday. Others in attendance had their time between 4.35 and 4.38. Either way, Scott's speed checks the box with flying colors.
Scott was a notable defender throughout Miami's impressive run to the 2025 college football championship. But despite his speed and physicality, the Steelers need to exercise caution before tying themselves to the polarizing cornerback.
The Pittsburgh Steelers should think twice about spending a second-round draft pick on Keionte Scott
There's no question Scott had an impressive season for the Hurricanes in 2025. After three years at Auburn, Scott transferred to Miami, where he recorded 64 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, five sacks, and two interceptions. He was the definition of a splash playmaker.
But Scott has two major red flags that should have the Steelers heed caution: he struggles in coverage, and he's old.
Despite his remarkable ability to make plays in the run game and behind the line of scrimmage, Scott struggles with down-to-down consistency in coverage. This was evidenced by allowing roughly 70 percent of passes to be completed in his coverage, per Pro Football Focus. Though he started in 14 games last season, Scott forced just five incompletions all year.
The major question marks in coverage are something we could live with if he were young and had a big growth curve ahead. Unfortunately, Scott will turn 25 before the start of his rookie season. For a position like cornerback, this is a concern that should drop him on draft boards.
This doesn't mean that Scott can't be a good player on his rookie contract, but by the end of the first deal, Scott will be approaching 30. Longevity might not be an option if the Steelers are looking for a player who could stick around after one contract.
Scott is older than fourth-year outside linebacker Nick Herbig and just three weeks younger than fourth-year defensive tackle Keeanu Benton. The problem is that Scott could still go through major growing pains and struggles in coverage early in his NFL career. And at nearly 25, he might already be close to maxing out his potential.
Honestly, Scott's best traits—his physicality and tackling ability—remind me a lot of former Steelers cornerback Mike Hilton. Like Hilton, Scott is a slot cornerback who will do his best work inside the formation—often in the box or near the line of scrimmage.
Keionte Scott could end up being a great player in the NFL, and there are aspects of his game that could even draw some Devon Witherspoon comps.
However, the fact that he'll turn 25 before the season and hasn't figured out how to cover with any sort of consistency means the Steelers should let some other team gamble on the polarizing cornerback early on Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft.