The NFL Draft is just around the corner, and the Steelers have now finished one of the steps ahead of the offseason's main event.
Tennessee's Darnell Wright, Georgia's Darnell Washington and Houston's Clayton Tune were the final three players to visit with the Steelers ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, wrapping up the team's top 30 visits.
Wright has long been tied to the Steelers throughout the draft process given the external fixation on any potential upgrade at the tackle position. At 6-5 and 333 pounds, Wright is one of the heaviest tackles in this class, but his athleticism made him a five-star recruit coming out of high school and he played both the left and right sides during his career at Tennessee.
Wright has been adamant throughout the draft process that he can play either side, and he's kept his draft stock high with solid performances at the Senior Bowl and Combine. Ultimately, the Steelers' evaluators will decide whether or not they believe he could do either, though he had more success as a right tackle with the Volunteers. There's even a little bit of speculation that he could ultimately become a guard at the NFL level, though teams haven't pressed him on that as much as other prospects.
Either way, Wright is viewed as one of the top tackles in this class, and his visit immediately follows Georgia's Broderick Jones -- another top tackle in the class -- so the Steelers are at least doing their due diligence for the position. Although, Wright is more of a second-tier tackle in this class behind Jones, Peter Skoronski and Paris Johnson Jr.
Washington is intriguing on a few levels. First, he's the only tight end to visit the Steelers this year, and it’s easy to see why they want to take a closer look at him. Washington has a freakish combination of size and athleticism. He stands 6-7 and weighs 264 pounds, but that's coupled with a 4.64 40-yard dash and has the longest arms (34 3/8 inches) and largest hands (11 inches) of all tight ends in his class.
Washington is already an accomplished blocker, but may need some refinement in the receiving portion of his game. He was underutilized in Georgia's passing game, hauling in just 28 passes for 454 yards and two touchdowns as a junior last year. Because of this, some draft experts have a hard time cementing him as a first-round pick, but the fascination teams may have with such a unique player may make him an early selection on the second night of the draft.
Tune is the second quarterback to visit the South Side, following BYU’s Jaren Hall last week. He was a four-year starter for the Cougars, and as a fifth-year senior, ended his college career with season in which he totaled 4,074 yards, 40 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 67.3% of his passes. Tune also has some mobility to his game, running for 546 yards and five touchdowns for the Cougars last season. His performance earned him first team all-conference honors.
Throughout the top 30 pre-draft visits, the Steelers hosted two quarterbacks, five wide receivers, one tight end, eight offensive linemen, five defensive linemen, three edge defenders, six cornerbacks and two safeties. While there is something to take away from the crop of players the Steelers hosted ahead of the draft, don't let that be a dead giveaway for their strategy next week. There are a number of variables that will affect how the Steelers handle each of their picks, with the way the draft falls being one of the key factors.
TOP 30 VISITS
* - local visit (doesn't count toward top 30 list)
• Jaren Hall, QB, BYU (April 12)
• Clayton Tune, QB, Houston (April 18)
• Bryce Ford-Wheaton, WR, West Virginia (April 13)*
• Charlie Jones, WR, Purdue (March 31)
• Jonathan Mingo, WR, Ole Miss (March 24)
• Jayden Reed, WR, Michigan State (April 12)
• Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee (April 14)
• Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia
• Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma (April 5)
• Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia (April 15)
• Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee (April 18)
• Cody Mauch, OL, North Dakota State (March 31)
• Steve Avila, G/C, TCU (April 6)
• O’Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida (April 5)
• Chandler Zavala, G, NC State (April 4)
• John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota (March 24)
• Keeanu Benton, DT, Wisconsin (April 3)
• Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson (April 15)
• Karl Brooks, DT, Bowling Green (April 13)
• Siaki Ika, DT, Baylor (April 5)
• Felix Anudike-Uzomah, EDGE, Kansas State (April 14)
• Robert Beal Jr., EDGE, Georgia (April 11)
• Tuli Tuipulotu, EDGE, USC (April 3)
• Keion White, EDGE, Georgia Tech (April 6)
• Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland (April 4)
• Julius Brents, CB, Kansas State (April 3)
• Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon (April 6)
• Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State (March 30)*
• Darius Rush, CB, South Carolina (April 6)
• Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami (April 5)
• Tanner Ingle, S, NC State (April 4)
• Daniel Scott, S, California (April 12)