Every year, each team gets to bring in 30 draft prospects for individual meetings and workouts with the team. For an insider’s look at what goes on during these Player Visits, check out this podcast from former Ravens & Browns scout Daniel Jeremiah at Move The Sticks. (Here’s a full list of his podcasts — you can also find them on iTunes under “Move The Sticks”). Generally, there are a few different “types” of prospects that the Steelers will bring in. First, they will bring in players that they are looking to take in the first few rounds of the draft. Second, they will bring in guys that either didn’t go to the combine or didn’t do certain workouts at the combine to try to get a better evaluation on them. Finally, they will bring in guys that have had some injuries in their past to get them evaluated by their team doctors.
To try to give you all the most information possible about the prospects the Steelers are bringing in for workouts, we compiled rankings from four different scouting websites: Draft Breakdown, Mocking the Draft, NFL House, and Scar Draft. We highly recommend all of them as a go-to sources for draft information. You can find quick-links to all of our recommended draft sites under the “Draft Resources” tab at the far right of the menu bar at the top of the page.
Navorro Bowman (LB-Penn St)
6’1″ 231 lbs
Draft Breakdown: #49 overall, #5 OLB
Mocking The Draft: #52 overall, #4 OLB
NFL House: #1 OLB
Scar Draft: #67 overall, #2 4-3 OLB
Projected Round: Late 1st-mid 2nd
Bowman is the biggest name that the Steelers brought in on the first day of prospect visits. Bowman has had a few injuries in the past, and it’s likely that the Steelers wanted their doctors to check him out. To be honest, I have no idea where the Steelers would fit him into their system. Bowman is the prototypical 4-3 OLB. He’s about 15 pounds too light for the ILB position in the Steelers 3-4, and I’m not sure how well he projects as a 3-4 OLB. That being said, Bowman has incredible instincts and sideline-to-sideline quickness. His natural position is in the 4-3 and while I love him as a player, I really don’t see the Steelers picking him.
Michael Neal (DT-Purdue)
6’4″ 302 lbs
Draft Breakdwon: #12 DT
Mocking the Draft: #126 overall, #16 DT
NFL House: unranked
Scar Draft: #83 overall, #8 3-4 DE
Projected Round: 5th-7th
Neal doesn’t have the size to play nose tackle in the 3-4, but he could be a good fit at the DE spot. The Steelers are old along the defensive line, with only Ziggy Hood and Ra’Shon Harris (both chosen in last year’s draft) the only players under 30. In the search to get younger along the defensive front, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Steelers use a mid-to-late round pick on a player like Neal. He has a high upside as a 3-4 end with good explosiveness and wouldn’t be asked to step in right away and start, giving the coaches some time to mold him into a playmaker in the defensive line rotation.
Chris DeGeare (OG-Wake Forest)
6’4″ 335 lbs
Draft Breakdown: unranked
Mocking the Draft: unranked
NFL House: unranked
Scar Draft: #280 overall, #17 G
Projected Round: 7th-undrafted
DeGeare was a highly touted prospect coming out of college, but was redshirted his junior year, and Steelers probably want to see if he’s fully recovered from injury. The Steelers found Ramon Foster (OL-Tennessee) who started a few games for them on the O-line last year in the undrafted free agent market. I would be shocked to see the Steelers use a pick to take DeGeare, and if they do I doubt it will be before the 7th round. That being said, adding players to a weak O-line is never a bad thing, you never know when you’ll find a steal in the late rounds.
Darrell Stuckey (S-Kansas)
6’1″ 205 lbs
Draft Breakdown: #10 S
Mocking the Draft: #91 overall, #4 SS
NFL House: #13 S
Scar Draft: #93 overall, #9 S
Projected Round: 5th-6th
Stuckey is a rangy safety that is a very good tackler. The Steelers had some big-time problems with tackling in the secondary, particularly at the safety position, last year with Polamalu out. It’s highly unlikely that Tyrone Carter comes back, particularly since he’s on the wrong side of 30. Chances are the Steelers will look to continue to add youth to their secondary. With the addition of Will Allen from Tampa, any safety drafted would be the #2 backup and get some time to learn the system. We would love to see the Steelers take a safety in this draft, but we’re hoping that they do it before Saturday.
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