West Virginia's Douglas one of two corners in for visits

The Steelers' focus on defense continued with its pre-draft visitors Wednesday as three of the four visitors came from that side of the ball. The Steelers hosted two cornerbacks in West Virginia's Rasul Douglas and Minnesota's Jalen Myrick along with linebacker Keion Adams from Western Michigan. The team also hosted Tennessee tight end Jason Croom.



Douglas had just one productive year of college football, but he managed to lead the NCAA with eight interceptions for the Mountaineers a season ago. Douglas is long at 6-2 with 32 1/8-inch arms and had a knack for finding the ball last season. A knock on him was that teams continued to target him, but he seemed to be on the winning side of the battle more times than not.

Douglas doesn't have top-end speed — he ran a 4.59 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine — but his size has helped him shoot up teams' draft boards into the first three or four rounds.

Myrick, on the other hand, lacks size but makes up for it with speed. He's just 5-10, but he ran a 4.28 at the NFL Combine. He had just one pick last season, but he broke up 11 passes and finished with 41 tackles. Myrick is projected to be a middle-round pick.

The Steelers signed Coty Sensabaugh this offseason, and he could have an immediate impact, whether it is in the slot or outside. Artie Burns and William Gay will return in 2017 and it’s likely that Ross Cockrell — a restricted free agent — will be back as well. Senquez Golson, a second-round pick two years ago, has yet to get on the field, but could push for playing time if he stays healthy.

The Steelers have hosted one other corner — Michigan's Jourdan Lewis.

Adams continues the trend of pass rushers visiting the Steelers. The 6-2, 245-pound outside linebacker projects as a defensive end in the NFL although he lacks elite size at that position. His athletic ability led to 7.5 sacks and 17.5 total tackles for loss last season. Adams has been sneaking up draft boards, too.

Croom is the first tight end to visit the Steelers this offseason. He caught 21 passes for 242 yards last season and never scored.

Here is a list of who has visited the Steelers so far (19 official visits, 4 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)

TE: Jason Croom, Tennessee (April 12)

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)
OLB: Tim Williams, Alabama (April 11)
OLB: Keion Adams, Western Michigan (April 12)

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)
CB: Rasul Douglas, West Virginia (April 12 — Unofficial)
CB: Jalen Myrick, Minnesota (April 12)

ILB: Jarrad Davis, Florida (April 6)

DE: Tanoh Kpassagno, Villanova (April 11)