It’s yet to be seen if the Pittsburgh Steelers will ultimately draft a tight end this year but on Friday they met with a few of the top ones in this year’s draft class just the same.
According to Jacob Klinger of pennlive.com, South Alabama tight end Gerald Everett told the media during his interview session that he has met with the Steelers. Additionally, the Steelers also met with top-rated Mississippi tight end Evan Engram as well, according to Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Everett caught 49 passes for 717 yards and four touchdowns last seasons and caught over 70% of the passes that were thrown his way. He reportedly measured in at Indianapolis at 6’3″, 239 pounds.
While not an overly great blocker, Everett can stretch the middle of the field with his athleticism and much in the same way we saw current Steelers tight end Ladarius Green do last season in the six games that he played in. Everett lined up out wide and in the slot quite a bit last season.
Below is what Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote about Everett ahead of the combine:
It’s difficult to find a good comparison for Everett because his size and toughness are similar to Marshall’s coming out, but his playing style resembles Delanie Walker at times. Everett has size, speed and tremendous run-after-catch potential, but it is his willingness and ability to block that separates him from other “matchup” tight ends. Route running is below average, but he should improve with NFL coaching. Everett has the talent to become a very good NFL starter with Pro Bowl potential if he puts it all together.
As for Engram, who measured in at 6’3″, 234-pounds, he’s another athletic tight end who is best used to stretch the field vertically. last season he caught 65 passes for 926 yards and 8 touchdowns and caught 162 total passes during his college career.
Per Zierlein on Engram:
Makes up for his lack of size with athletic ability and plus speed for the position. Engram has experience as a safety blanket for Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly and can work all three levels of the field. He will appeal strictly to teams looking for a move tight end who can be deployed as a chess piece in a matchup-based passing attack. Engram’s ability to stress defenses could land him on Day 2 (Rounds 2-3) of the draft and a potential starting role early in his career.
Everett and Engram aren’t likely to be the only tight end the Steelers will meet with while in Indianapolis and in fact, Pittsburgh tight end Scott Orndoff said he has met with the Steelers and tight ends coach James Daniel at the combine. He measured in at 6’5″, 253-pounds. He caught 35 passes for 579 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2016.
Daniel also met with Arkansas tight end Jeremy Sprinkle in Indianapolis per Klinger. Sprinkle caught 33 passes for 380 yards and 4 touchdowns last season.
Tight ends Pharaoh Brown (Oregon) and Adam Shaheen (ashland) also met with the Steelers in some capacity per Klinger.
