With the NFL Combine and pro days in the rear-view mirror, pre-NFL Draft visits are ramping up for all 32 teams.
Such is the case for the Steelers on the South Side, which brought in three prospects for visits Tuesday and are set to bring in another at a position of need.
Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks, NC State safety Tanner Ingle, and NC State guard Chandler Zavala all visited the South Side Tuesday and, according to the NFL Network, Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson is set to check in with the Steelers this week.
The highlight here is Banks, who is regarded as one of the top prospects at his position and overall, with many projections having him taken off the board in the first round. The 2022 honorable mention All-Big Ten selection checks into Pro Football Focus' big board at No. 18 overall, with the USA Today mock draft consensus placing him as the 19th pick in the draft to Tampa Bay, with an average draft slotting of 20.0.
Banks ran a 4.35-second 40-yard dash while jumping 42 inches vertically and 11 feet, 4 inches on the broad jump at the NFL Combine. He measured at 6 feet, 197 pounds and earned an athleticism score of 98, first among Combine cornerbacks.
Ingle was a five-year player at NC State, primarily at the safety position. Over his last two seasons, Ingle combined for 165 total tackles, 11.5 for loss, with three interceptions and six passes defended across 25 games. He earned first-team All-ACC honors following the 2021 season. He is not ranked on PFF's big board.
Zavala was regarded as one of the standouts of NC State's pro day. He recorded 30 reps on the 225-pound bench press and leaped for a 32.5-inch vertical, the latter of which would have tied for the third best among NFL Combine offensive linemen. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.01 seconds, which would have been the fifth fastest among Combine offensive linemen.
Chandler Zavala is a OG prospect in the 2023 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.95 RAS out of a possible 10.00 after his pro day. This ranked 8 out of 1382 OG from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/zueW27yJTr #RAS pic.twitter.com/d9jvhIu60z
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 31, 2023
Zavala is ranked 142nd overall on PFF's big board. CBS Sports graded him as a third-round prospect, while Bleacher Report's draft profile gives a comparison to Steelers guard Kevin Dotson.
If the Steelers pass on a defensive back in the first round, then Stevenson could be in play for the Steelers in the second round. He is ranked 45th on PFF's big board, and CBS Sports mocked him as the 68th overall pick to Denver, in the third round.
Perhaps lost in a stacked draft of cornerbacks, Stevenson profiles as a physical but athletic defender who thrived in man-to-man coverage in two seasons with Miami, after transferring over from Georgia prior to the start of the 2021 season. In 22 games with Miami, he posted 68 total tackles (47 solo) with 4.0 for a loss. He intercepted three passes and defended 11 more.
At the Combine, Stevenson physically measured similarly to Banks at 6 feet, 198 pounds, while running a 4.45-second 40-yard dash and jumping 38.5 inches vertically and 10 feet, 5 inches on the broad jump.
