The Pittsburgh Steelers have brought in Memphis defensive tackle Dontari Poe for a pre draft visit on Wednesday according to Gerry Dulac. Poe measured in at the NFL combine at 6041 and weighed 346 pounds. He put on a good show in Indianapolis as he ran a reported 4.98 40 time to go along with a 4.56 short shuttle time. He was the strongest player this year on the bench as he put up 44 reps of 225 pounds. His vertical leap was 29 1/2 inches and his broad jump was 8\’09”.
Poe played up and down the line for Memphis and flashed the most as a one-gap, three technique defensive tackle. He is quick off the ball and is very agile for a player of his size. Poe did not flash consistently on tap against lesser competition and he did not show a consistent ability to anchor over the nose with two gap responsibilities. He is very strong in the weight room, but that strength is hard to find on the tape. He never dominated games.
One plus for Poe is that he is very raw and his technique is very sloppy. He has been compared to Haloti Ngata, but that appears to be in measurables only as Ngata flashed much more on film in college against much better competition. He looks best suited to contribute as a 4-3 defensive tackle at the next level, but his size and rawness could allow him to play nose in a 3-4 system if he can become a better anchor that can control two gaps. That would take some time in my opinion to happen. He appears to have a good character, which is a plus. Currently Poe is deemed to be a mid first round selection.
