Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Pat Meyer has racked up the frequent flyer miles this draft season. He’s made at least his five stops during the Pro Day cycle. Today, he’s at The University of Tennessee for the Volunteers’ Pro Day, with eyes squarely on OT Darnell Wright.
We spotted Meyer in this video of Wright going through testing. Meyer is in the background watching Wright.
Pittsburgh’s reportedly had interest in Wright for months. A Senior Bowl standout, he’s a quality athlete with good feet and positional versatility. He played tackle and guard throughout his college career. Most recently, he was the Volunteers’ starting right tackle, helping to slow down projected top-five pick Alabama EDGE Will Anderson in 2022.
Wright could be in the mix for Pittsburgh at #17 or #32. Most draft boards view him as a more likely name for the latter, the top of the second round. But given the scarcity and importance of tackles, #17 can’t be taken off the table. However, it doesn’t appear Mike Tomlin or Omar Khan attended Tennessee’s Pro Day. Historically, that means Wright isn’t as strong of a bet for first-round contention. In Pittsburgh, there’s a strong correlation between positional coaches’ Pro Day attendance and Day Two picks. WR George Pickens and OL Kendrick Green are Day Two picks who had the Steelers’ positional coach attend his Pro Day over the last two years.
In our pre-draft scouting report, we noted Wright’s long arms and strong football IQ though we also knocked him for a lack of nasty in the run game and a lack of great balance and bend. It’s also worth noting that the Volunteers also have versatile offensive lineman Jerome Carvin as a draft-eligible player. With 43 career starts across left guard, right guard, and center, he could be a late-round pick.
In addition to Tennessee, we’ve spotted Meyer at the following Pro Days: Northwestern, Ohio State, Alabama, and N.C. State,
You can check out our full report on Wright below.
