Steelers nearly round out pre-draft visit list with two more names added

The Pittsburgh Steelers pre-draft visit list is nearly set with two weeks until the 2023 NFL Draft. In years past, Kevin Colbert elected not to use every 30-visit allowed, but Omar Khan and Andy Weidl could be taking a different approach.

After already bringing in 28 players to the facility for pre-draft visits since the beginning of the process, the Steelers added two more names to the list. TribLIVE's Joe Rutter reports that Pittsburgh had visits on April 13th with DT Karl Brooks of Bowling Green and WR Bryce Ford Wheaton of West Virginia.

While this technically brings to the total amount of pre-draft visits up to 30 players, Ford-Wheaton is considered a local visit as West Virginia University is within the described driving distance from the Steelers' NFL facility.

Brooks and Ford-Wheaton are two players projected to go on day three of the NFL Draft, but the new front office certainly isn't in the business of letting these visits go to waste.

What recent pre-draft visits mean for Steelers

Recently, I did a deep dive into the Pittsburgh Steelers pre-draft visit list on the Still Curtain Podcast, as my co-host and I attempted to gauge which rounds the Steelers could target each position based on their interests. The additions of Karl Brooks and Bryce Ford-Wheaton to the 30-visit list is further proof that the team may not intend to take these positions early.

Let's start with the latter. Ford-Wheaton now joins Ole Miss' Jonathan Mingo, Purdue's Charlie Jones, and Michigan State's Jayden Reed as the four receivers Pittsburgh has brought into the facility since the beginning of the draft process. Of this group, Mingo is the only player who has a shot to be drafted in the second round, but based on this list, it's most likely that the Steelers won't even consider taking a wide receiver until the 3rd round at the earliest.

It makes even more sense that they could be eyeing the 120th overall pick in the fourth round to take their receiver, as a few of the players they have expressed interest in could still be on the board at this point.

When it comes to defensive tackle, there's a much greater chance they could take someone on day two of the NFL Draft. The Steelers have met with players like Wisconsin's Keeanu Benton, Florida's Gervon Dexter, and Baylor's Siaki Ika. If they elect to go with other positions early, Karl Brooks could prove to be a backup plan. This is a name that has been in connection with the Steelers at least somewhat since the Senior Bowl, and they had a scout at his Bowling Green Pro Day.

Obviously, the Steelers can't draft every player they meet with during the pre-draft process, but this at least puts two more players on the map to be possible day-three draft choices. Pittsburgh could have their list finalized very soon.