We’re entering the home stretch of draft season, Steelers Nation. Free Agency is in the rear view as teams enter the final cruch of preparation for the NFL Draft. Pro days are being held daily, dinner meetings reserved nightly, and teams are bringing in prospects for official visits. Barring a trade out of the first round, we’re just 29 days away from finding out who the Steelers are taking with their first pick.
Be sure to keep up with the Steelers' visits with Behind the Steel Curtain’s Top-30 Visit Tracker and find all of our NFL Draft-related content in our 2025 NFL Draft Hub.
This week, Read & React looks at how recent drafts might give us some clues about the Steelers' 2025 draft plans.
Are there any notable trends we can discern from Pittsburgh’s recent history of pre-draft visits? If you’re reading the tea leaves, what are the visits scheduled telling you about the 2025 draft so far?
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RP: I’m going to say up top, two drafts probably provide too small of a sample size to make any claims with certainty. That said, consider these facts:
The Steelers made seven selections in the 2024 draft: offensive tackle (1), center (1), wide receiver (1), inside linebacker (1), guard (1), defensive line (1), and a corner that projects as a developmental safety.
The Steelers visited with wide receivers (7), offensive tackles (6), interior offensive linemen (7), defensive linemen (6), inside linebackers (2), and cornerbacks (7).
The Steelers brought in Troy Fautanu, Payton Wilson, Mason McCormick, and Logan Lee on official visits. Zach Frazier and Beanie Bishop were brought in as local visits, which doesn’t count against the 30 pre-draft visits they’re allowed.
Fautanu, Frazier, Roman Wilson, Payton Wilson and Lee were all drafted in the same round as at least one other player sharing their position. The Steelers also hosted another undrafted nickel corner in addition to Bishop.
The Steelers made seven selections in the 2023 draft: offensive tackle (1), corner (2), defensive line (1), tight end (1), edge (1), and a swing offensive lineman.
In 2023, the Steelers held visits with players at these positions: quarterback (2), wide receiver (5), offensive tackle (3), interior offensive line (5), defensive interior (5), edge (3), cornerback (6) and safety (2).
The Steelers brought in Broderick Jones, Keeanu Benton, and Darnell Washington for official pre-draft visits. Joey Porter Jr. was brought in on a local visit.
Jones, Porter and Benton were all drafted in the same round as at least one other player at their position the Steelers hosted.
Now let’s look at the two drafts prior to Khan taking over.
In 2022, Chris Oladokun and Mark Robinson visited with the team and were drafted
In 2022 Kenny Pickett was a local visit.
The Steelers did not select any corners, edge rushers — I’m counting Demarvin Leal as a DL — or safeties in 2022, but met with players at those positions.
None of the unselected visitors were drafted in the same round as the player the Steelers would select at their position.
In 2021 Najee Harris was the only player brought in for one of the official 30 visits the Steelers drafted.
In 2021 Pat Freiermuth was a local visit.
Of the players the Steelers met with in 2021, cornerback was the only position group they didn’t select. They did not meet with any punters or defensive linemen but selected those positions in the draft.
Running back was the only position where the Steelers met with a player drafted in the same round as the one they selected.
That’s a lot to digest. But do any trends jump out to you Ryland?
RB: That’s a lot of great information. If there’s one overarching takeaway it’s that — largely under GM Omar Khan — top-30 visits are very important to the Steelers’ draft plans. If you’re entering any mock draft competitions this year, keep that in mind.
Also, the Steelers seem to treat their free local visits with the same purpose as the top-30 meetings — Pittsburgh has selected one local visit in each of their last four drafts. Maybe Wyatt Milum is more on the radar than we think.
Beyond those two fairly obvious musings, other observations stand out. One is that there’s always a position group that the Steelers heavily scout but don’t draft. In 2024, the team met with six cornerbacks and didn’t draft one. In 2023, the team met with five wide receivers and five interior offensive linemen, and once again, didn’t draft either position. The takeaway? It isn’t a guarantee that the Steelers draft a running back this year despite their heavy interest in this year’s class.
Also, keep an eye on unexpected visits, where the team shows interest in a player who doesn’t fill a highly-discussed need. That would be Payton Wilson (one of only two inside linebacker visits) in 2024 and Darnell Washington (the only tight end) in 2023.
And then finally, a deep cut that isn’t reflected in the bullet points above: The Steelers can circle back to players the team met with from years past. In 2019, Pittsburgh met with Kerrith Whyte Jr. (remember him?), Miles Boykin and Andy Isabella. In 2020, Van Jefferson, 2022, Darius Rush, and 2024, Steven Jones. Maybe still keep an eye on Asante Samuel Jr. in free agency?
In short, if you don’t have the time to do a deep dive on every player in this year’s draft class, focus on the 30 or so players who Pittsburgh will meet with and you’re near-guaranteed to scout a few future Steelers in the process.
RP: I’ll first quibble a bit with your takeaway on running backs. While it’s true that we saw the Steelers meet with 5+ players at a position they didn’t draft, I hesitate to call it predictive. Especially considering the running back room. I like Kenneth Gainwell, but he’s not a back who can shoulder an increased workload if something were to happen to Warren. Cordarelle Patterson is still on the team — though they met with Savion Williams, who is commonly compared to him — but beyond him, there are only practice squad players.
I see this as more like last year, when they were telegraphing taking a center early. With this year’s deep class, to me, it’s screaming a fourth or fifth-round running back. What if the Steelers stand pat and wide receiver is the decoy? Maybe Aaron Rodgers signs and has an old buddy or two he’ll insist on bringing in.
When I look at the corners the Steelers brought in last year, I believe we’re looking at the contingency plan. Assuming the Steelers were all in on offensive tackle in the first round, a look at the cornerback visits includes four players widely projected as second-round values. I think it’s quite possible the Steelers brought those players in for insurance if they were on the wrong side of a center run. In that instance, maybe we’re looking at Andru Phillips as a Steeler.
While it’s still too early to have a full picture on who the Steelers are bringing in, one position I think could become a surprising pick is safety. The Steelers were reportedly chatting up top prospects Nick Emmanwori and Malaki Starks at their pro days. The Steelers don’t have an immediate need, but DeShon Elliott’s contract is up after the year and new acquisition Juan Thornhill only signed a one-year deal. I don’t think it’s their top priority, but I found that interesting.
Lastly, I want to circle back to your point about Milum and the importance of local visits. I hadn’t considered it since the other visits seemed circumstantial to me, but now you have me thinking. Milum would fit the classic “swing” role we’ve seen the Steelers target often as late picks or as priority free agents. Milum fits the bully ball mold the Steelers hope to achieve, but has shorter arms than the 33” minimum threshold the NFL prefers. Whether he stays outside or kicks inside with his college teammate Frazier, the fit makes sense as a depth piece.
RB: Your theory of the wide receivers being this year’s red herring makes a lot of sense, especially considering that the Steelers have now brought in two receivers seemingly cemented in the round two range, and the team is missing its pick there this year due to the D.K. Metcalf trade. That said, I have to mention that those two players, Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, are some of my favorite wide receiver prospects in the draft.
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
Higgins especially makes sense for the Steelers, whether it’s as a George Pickens replacement down the road or a highly effective power slot. Going back to the Aaron Rodgers point, the Steelers currently have two boundary receivers in Pickens and Metcalf who are neither quick winners underneath nor precise route-runners — two skills that Rodgers covets from his pass-catchers.
While Higgins doesn’t fit that profile to a tee, he fits the best of the receiver visits so far. His fantastic quickness despite his big frame is the first thing that stands out when watching him, and he could carve out a role as a reliable inside target right away.
Of course, whether the Steelers can actually find a way to draft Higgins or not is the bigger question. I thought he might drop to the third round early in the draft cycle, but after posting a 9.87 RAS, that dream has probably died. If the Steelers do indeed target a receiver in the upcoming draft, I hope they spend a few more top-30 visits on precise route-runners rather than another raw vertical threat.
I’ll highlight two other players a bit more briefly as I have draft profiles publishing on them soon. The first is Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, who’s quickly become one of “my guys” in this draft cycle. I’ll admit, I’ve been predicting that the team would go after a bigger runner to round out a room that includes Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell, but outside of Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II, Pittsburgh seems to be prioritizing speed over size at the position in its top-30 visits.
If that’s the case, Sampson is my favorite of the crop so far. He needs to improve his third-down skill set — pass-catching and blocking — but he runs incredibly tough for 5’8, 200 pounds while still possessing excellent agility, burst, and speed. If he weighed about 15 pounds more, he’d be in the same conversation as the other running backs projected to go in the second round this year (he’ll have to clean up some fumbling issues too).
The other name I’ll shout out is Iowa defensive tackle Yahya Black. Surprisingly, the Steelers haven’t brought in any of the draft class’ top D-linemen in for a visit yet (less than half have been reported so don’t panic), instead focusing on some mid- to late-round prospects. My current theory is that they double up at the position — one in the first round, and then one on Day 3.
If Pittsburgh does end up with a blue-chip defensive lineman in the early rounds, I’d be very happy with Black in the sixth or seventh. He’s an old school defender who eats up space and doesn’t bring much to the table as a pass-rusher, but his run defense is NFL-ready. With 35” arms at 6’6, 336 pounds, he has an ideal build for the position. He’d be a great addition to the bottom of the depth chart who could see playing time against offenses like Baltimore’s.
Needless to say, I’m curious to see who else the Steelers choose for their remaining visits. Obviously, more defensive linemen is a must. And after the team signed Darius Slay and Brandin Echols in free agency, I’m not sure if cornerback is still on the table — but 17 top-30 visits are left, and I’d love to see a Jahdae Barron, Azareye’h Thomas, Jacob Parrish, Cobee Bryant, etc. pop up to show that the Steelers are considering a long-term addition to the secondary.
But out of the reported top-30 meetings so far, who stands out to you, Ryan?
RP: Bhayshul Tuten is a player I mocked to the Steelers in the fourth round when we did our offseason blueprints, so I’m glad to see him getting brought in for a visit. His shorter stature makes him denser and able to bounce off tackles more than you’d expect from a 206-pound back. Oh yeah, and he’s blazing fast. In Arthur Smith’s wide zone scheme, Tuten would be the type of home run hitter you’ll gladly find a handful of touches a game for, just to see if he does something crazy. And while he was under-utilized as a pass catcher in college, I think he’s shown enough glimpses to hint at some untapped potential.
Tuten caught 50 balls for 320 yards and 4 TDs at VT. He was mostly running screens, underneath routes and getting dump offs, but I think he has more to his game that can be unlocked in the NFL pic.twitter.com/fN2PNNbJXq
— Ryan Parish (@RyanParishmedia) March 3, 2025
Looking elsewhere, we know the Steelers are looking at defensive linemen pretty heavily. That feels legit not only because this is a historic interior defensive line class, but the Steelers also have a real need after cutting Larry Ogunjobi. Cam Heyward’s future after 2025 isn’t certain either. He could retire. Or he could regress enough that they don’t bring him back for 2026, when he’ll have a $19.1 million cap hit. His 2026 contract year has no guaranteed money, and cutting him would save them $14 million. It’s cold, but it’s how the NFL usually operates.
That’s why I agree with Ryland that a defensive line double-dip makes a ton of sense. Especially if one is taken with their first pick. Whether they draft a nose tackle like Kenneth Grant or a 3-4 end option like Derrick Harmon, they’d be wise to leave the draft with both a nose and an end.
Joshua Farmer is an intriguing option they’ve had for a visit, and one I’ll have a profile out on before the draft. If the Steelers take Grant, Farmer as a third or fourth-round pick would make an enticing pairing. Standing 6’3 and weighing 305 pounds, Farmer’s unique trait is his 35” arms. Farmer isn’t entirely polished in his techniques, but he’s an absolute hoss. He has size and power you can’t teach.
Once you’re out of the first round, those are the types of traits you bet on if you feel comfortable with your staff’s development plan. As maligned as much of the coaching staff is among fans, defensive line coach Karl Dunbar is one of the coaches with a track record I trust. Give him a player like Farmer to mold and sit that player behind Heyward for a year or two? That sounds similar to a plan that worked well for Heyward.
Let’s try another thought exercise. What has the Steelers’ recent history been regarding trades in the draft? Would there be any benefit to trading back in 2025? How likely is that scenario?
RB: Under Omar Khan, the Steelers haven’t been overly aggressive when it comes to draft day trades, but one of the first moves of his tenure was trading up three spots in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft in order to snag Broderick Jones. Then, in 2023, he traded down in the third round, landing Darnell Washington and gaining the pick that secured Nick Herbig in the fourth.
There isn’t a ton to take away from that, but it’s clear Khan isn’t opposed to wheeling and dealing up and down in the draft, especially considering some of the more aggressive moves he’s made outside of draft day. Recently, he traded this year’s second round pick for D.K. Metcalf (also turning a seventh-rounder into a sixth).
Khan, somewhat surprisingly, didn’t make any moves in the 2024 draft, but I don’t think trades are off the table in 2025. However, I’d confidently rule out a move into the top 10 as the Steelers seem to be loading up for a big quarterback trade up next year, with Russell Wilson’s Giants contract likely giving the team another piece of compensatory pick ammo. Besides, without a second-rounder in 2025, I doubt the team wants to lose any more significant draft capital this year.
RP: As Ryland points out, Khan did make the move to trade up in the first round during his first draft, but last year, he returned to the Steelers' usual strategy of letting the board fall to them. Since 2000, Pittsburgh has traded up in the first round only four times, and traded back just once. That came in Kevin Colbert’s second year on the job when the Steelers moved back three spots in a swap with the Jets, using that pick to take Casey Hampton.
It would be an uncharacteristic move for the Steelers to trade back, but it's one I think worth considering. The Steelers are down a second round pick after the DK Metcalf trade. This class is deep at defensive tackle and running back, but the Steelers should also be strongly looking at the secondary and depth at offensive line and wide receiver. If a trade opportunity presents itself —and the board falls in a way where they can still get a really good player a few spots back — the Steelers have enough needs where Omar Khan could decide it’s worth it.
Join in on Steelers R&R by sharing your takes on this week’s topics. What are your takeaways from the team’s pre-draft visits? Thoughts on draft day trades? Let us know in the comments! Feel free to pitch future questions in the comment section or on Twitter/X: tag @_Ryland_B or @RyanParishMedia.
