It’s a busy Monday at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ facility. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review‘s Joe Rutter, the team is hosting three prospects for pre-draft visits: Wisconsin DL Keeanu Benton, USC EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu, and Kansas State CB Julius Brents.
All three of these visits have previously been reported so aside from the date of their visit, none of this is breaking news.
Earlier in the day, Benton shared this photo of himself at the team’s facility, “looking” for former Wisconsin teammate Isaiahh Loudermilk, whom Benton credits for helping him early in his college career.
All three players are regarded as Day Two selections. Brents arguably is the most likely player to hear his name first, a potential top-40 selection, as a tall and long cover corner who is willing to be physical as a tackler and against the run. The biggest knock on him is a lack of long speed and tendency to get grabby at the top of the route, leading him to be flagged too often. Still, he has an unusual frame and Pittsburgh’s clearly in the market to add a cornerback early in the draft, potentially with its top pick at #17.
Benton is one of the top interior defensive linemen. With strength and length, he can play up and down the line but mostly played as a nose tackle last year for Wisconsin. While not a great athlete, he shows quickness and active hands to shed blocks and can disrupt in the backfield.
Tuipulotu is a heavy and powerful EDGE rusher who broke out for 13.5 sacks last season for the Trojans. Pittsburgh currently lacks EDGE depth behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith though they have shown interest in bringing back Bud Dupree.
As of now, we know 15 of the team’s allotted 30 pre-draft visitors. There’s also Penn State CB Joey Porter Jr., recently brought in for a visit but because he’s local, does not count against the team’s Top 30. You can check out our full pre-draft tracker at the link here.
You can also check out our scouting reports on all three players below.
