The 2017 NFL Draft is now a little more than five weeks away. The pro days are beginning to wind down now with pre-draft visits around the league beginning to take place. On Wednesday, Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN released his third mock of the first round and his latest offering includes the Pittsburgh Steelers selecting Houston edge rusher Tyus Bowser 30th overall.
Kiper writes:
You might remember Bowser from the time he got in a fight with a teammate and broke an orbital bone the day before a game, but he has made a name for himself from his play on the field, too. He had 8.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss for the Cougars in only eight games last season. Bowser (6-3, 247) is perfect for a 3-4 team like the Steelers, and he is rising up draft boards after testing incredibly well at the combine with a 4.65 40 and 37.5-inch vertical. Pittsburgh brought back James Harrison, who at 38 could be a mentor to Bowser.
Bowser, who measured in at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine at 6025, 247-pounds, ran the 40-yard-dash in 4.65 seconds. He did 21 reps on the bench while in Indianapolis and posted a vertical jump of 37.5 inches and a 10’7″ broad jump.
In the 48 games that Boswer played in at Houston he recorded 137 total tackles, 22 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions and 8 pass breakups. 8.5 of those sacks came during the 2016 season.
As Kiper mentioned, Bowser suffered an orbital fracture as a result of the fight with his teammate and it caused him to miss five games in the middle of the season.
The Houston pro day will take place later on this month and it will be interesting to see who the Steelers send to it. Additionally, it will also be interesting to see if Bowser is brought in for a pre-draft visit next month.
In case you missed it, below is a full breakdown of Boswer that Alex Kozora posted several weeks ago.
