Pitt's Peterman makes third QB to meet with Steelers

The Steelers didn't have to look far for the next quarterback on their list of pre-daft visitors as former Pitt signal-caller Nathan Peterman was on the other side of Rooney Sports Complex on Monday, visiting with the Steelers.

Peterman, 6-foot-2 and 222 pounds, threw for 2,855 yards last season to go with 27 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He settled in late in the season for the Panthers, which included throwing for 308 yards and five TDs in a 43-42 upset of No. 1 Clemson.



Both Todd Haley and Kevin Colbert watched Peterman throw at Pitt's pro day on March 22, and bringing the quarterback in for a visit is harmless toward the Steelers' visit numbers since Peterman is local.

It makes sense for the Steelers to look in the direction of a quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger is 35 years old and backup Landry Jones has rarely shown the capability to take over that spot should Roethlisberger call it quits any time soon. Roethlisberger's contract goes through 2019 while Jones' is through 2018.

Peterman could be an option for the team's third-round compensatory pick, too.

The second pre-draft visitor the Steelers hosted was Eastern Washington linebacker Sam Ebukam. Ebukam is a 6-2, 240-pound outside backer with rushing capabilities who finished with a team-high 9.5 sacks last season. He had a total of 71 tackles on the year with 14.5 of those going for a loss. This gives the Steelers five pre-daft visits with five outside linebackers. Ebukam is projected as a late-round pick.

Here is a list of who has visited the Steelers so far (14 official visits, 3 unofficial visits). They are permitted 30 official pre-draft visits and an unlimited amount of unofficial visits:

QB: Patrick Mahomes, Texas Tech (April 3)
QB: Josh Dobbs, Tennessee (April 3)
QB: Nathan Peterman, Pitt (April 10 – Unofficial)


WR: Kenny Golladay, Northern Illinois (April 3)
WR: Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M (April 3)
WR: Chris Godwin, Penn State (April 6)

RB: James Conner, Pitt (April 6 – Unofficial)

OLB: Takk McKinley, UCLA (April 4)
OLB: Derek Rivers, Youngstown State (April 4)
OLB: Zach Cunningham, Vanderbilt (April 7)
OLB: Carroll Phillips, Illinois (April 7)
OLB: Sam Ebukam, Eastern Washington (April 10)


S: Monte Nicholson, Michigan State (April 4 — Unofficial)
S: Joshua Jones, North Carolina State (April 6)
S: Budda Baker, Washington (April 6)

CB: Jourdan Lewis, Michigan (April 4)

ILB: Jarrad Davis, Florida (April 6)