Mike Tomlin is on an Iowa tour to start the week. After attending Iowa Hawkeyes Pro Day yesterday, Tomlin is at Iowa State’s Pro Day Tuesday. WHO13’s Mark Freund noted the big crowd of NFL personnel, highlighted by Tomlin and Dallas Cowboys’ DC Dan Quinn.
Freund also spotted Khan with Tomlin. The pair were together for yesterday’s Iowa Pro Day.
And Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline notes DC Teryl Austin is also in attendance, a big group of Steelers at this workout.
Vice President of Player Personnel Dan Rooney Jr. is also there.
Per Pauline, the Steelers had dinner with McDonald on Monday night.
EDGE rusher Will McDonald is the Cyclones’ #1 prospect and a potential first-round pick. With freaky athleticism that allows him to literally leap over cars, he also had an incredibly productive college career. McDonald tied for the Big 12 record in career sacks with 34 of them. Across 2020 and 2021, he racked up 21.5 sacks but saw more attention in 2022 and his production dipped, notching only five of them.
Long and bendy, our Chandler Stroud praised his great first step and hand placement in evaluating McDonald’s game. However, he noted McDonald needs to work on getting off blocks in the run game and needs to improve his football instincts. He’s also an older prospect, turning 24 in June. Overall, we put a second-round grade on McDonald.
He has an interesting backstory and you can check out our interview with him at this year’s Senior Bowl to find out more about the person, not just the player.
In addition to McDonald, there’s also WR Xavier Hutchinson. A steadily productive player, he caught 254 passes for nearly 3000 yards and 15 touchdowns throughout his career, posting his first 1,000-yard season in 2022. He’s currently viewed as a mid-round pick, on average mocked in the fourth round.
In fact, Freund caught Tomlin keeping a close eye on Hutchinson going through drills.
Tomlin’s choice to attend this Pro Day as opposed to Auburn’s is a little surprising. Obviously, he was in the area and is perhaps just setting up shop here for the day, knowing he’ll be traveling the rest of the week. Ohio State’s Pro Day is tomorrow, and odds are high Tomlin will be attending that one. Still, given the fact Tomlin’s spent the last two days at schools with first-round prospects at EDGE rusher, Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness and McDonald, it’s certainly worth considering when building your next Steelers mock draft.
Check out our complete report on McDonald below.
