Add another one to the list. Florida cornerback Duke Dawson has a pre-draft visit scheduled with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That news was first reported by Justin Melo of Titans Wire.
I confirmed it will be a pre-draft visit, not just a workout held outside the city.
Dawson is considered one of the top nickel corners in this years class, standing in at 5’10/5 197 pounds. He played inside and outside with the Gators. At the Combine, he ran a 4.46 and put up 15 reps on the bench. He did not test in anything else.
In four seasons with the Gators, he recorded 81 tackles, 6.5 for a loss, and intercepted six passes. Four of those came in his senior year, earning him an invite to the Senior Bowl, although he missed the first day with an illness.
Dawson is currently viewed as a Day Two pick. The Steelers found their nickel corner in Mike Hilton last season and it’s hard to see the team put a high investment into a cornerback again. But Dawson is an aggressive corner with ball skills who hits and supports the run, a similar skillset to Hilton and I’d argue Dawson is the better athlete. On tape, the biggest issue he has is a tendency to be over-aggressive and vulnerable to getting beat on double-moves and nuanced route running by slot receivers.
He’s now the fourth non-local pre-draft visit to come to Pittsburgh. Follow our tracker for the rest. Each club gets up to 30 each season and the team is usually pretty good about announcing when the players officially take their visit.
