Steelers News: Nate Wiggins, Luke McCaffrey, pre-draft visits, and more

The rush of free agency is in the rearview mirror, but things are starting to heat back up for the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Pro Days in the books, Omar Khan and the front office are wasting no time taking advantage of their Top 30 pre-draft visits.

The remaining visits are the last big step in the pre-draft process before Khan, Andy Weidl, and Pittsburgh's staff assemble their final big board ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. In the coming weeks, we expect the Steelers to use up their remaining visits.

Recently, more names like LSU DL Maason Smith and USC WR Tahj Washington were ushered in for pre-draft visits. Now two more interesting draft prospects join the list on March 4th. Here's the latest Steelers news.

Steelers host Nate Wiggins, Luke McCaffrey for pre-draft visits

Recently, Ray Fittipaldo of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette confirmed three more pre-draft visitors for the Pittsburgh Steelers. On March 4th, the team is hosting Clemson CB Nate Wiggins, Rice WR Luke McCaffrey, and Oregon OL Steven Jones for Top 30 visits.

Jones, an offensive lineman from Oregon, is considered a late-round prospect or priority free agent. However, the other two pre-draft visits are particularly intriguing.

Wiggins is expected to be drafted in the back half of the first round thanks to his elite speed (4.28 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine) and sticky man-coverage ability. Wiggins now checks the Pro Day visit, Combine visit, and Top 30 visit boxes the Steelers typically look for in a first-round pick.

McCaffrey, on the other hand, is considered to be a Day 3 wide receiver prospect. His quickness and ability to catch the ball in traffic could make him a respectable receiver at the next level who could work the slot or play from the outside. It doesn't hurt that McCaffrey has strong family bloodlines (his brother Christian McCaffrey is an All-Pro running back for the 49ers).

Updated Steelers Top pre-draft visit tracker

With a flood of confirmed Top 30 pre-draft visits for the Steelers coming in this week, more names were added to the list. Here's a look at every pre-draft visit Pittsburgh has held so far:

• QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
• RB Dillion Johnson, Washington
• WR Xavier Legette, South Carolina
• WR Ricky Pearsall, Florida
• WR Malachi Corley, Western Kentucky
• WR Tahj Washington, USC
• WR Luke McCaffrey, Rice
• OT Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State
• OT Amarius Mims, Georgia
• OT Matt Goncalves, Pitt (Local)
• OL Travis Glover, Georgia State
• OL Steven Jones, Oregon
• DL Darius Robinson, Missouri
• DL Braden Fiske, Florida State
• DL Maason Smith, LSU
• DL Khristian Boyd, Northern Iowa
• CB Nate Wiggins, Clemson
• CB Andru Phillips, Kentucky
• CB M.J. Devonshire, Pittsburgh (Local)

Some of these visits were with local prospects and do not count toward the 30 visits the Steelers are alluded. By this count, they have used 17 of their Top 30 visits, meaning they still have room for 13 more (plus any more local visits they wish to pursue). You can check out the full Steelers pre-draft visit tracker here.

Steelers trade back in latest NFL mock draft

In the latest 2024 NFL mock draft from Josh Edwards of CBS Sports, the Steelers trade back with the Arizona Cardinals. After moving from pick 20 back to pick 27, Edwards has Pittsburgh turning their card in for Georgia wide receiver, Ladd McConkey. Here's what Edwards had to say about the selection:

"Steelers fans will probably not be fans of the team's decision to trade out of the opportunity to select one of the perceived top interior offensive linemen, but they still address a position of need while adding draft resources in the process."

- Josh Edwards, via CBS Sports

Fans might not be pleased with the idea of passing on the offensive line, but the Steelers find a quality WR2 to pair with George Pickens while picking up some extra draft capital in the process. In this mock, Pittsburgh stays one pick ahead of the Buffalo Bills who recently traded away Stefon Diggs and are looking to draft a wide receiver. Edwards has the Bills taking Texas' Adonai Mitchell one pick later.