The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most active teams during the pre-draft cycle with head coach Mike Tomlin and former general manager Kevin Colbert and now current general manager Omar Khan traveling to numerous Pro Days across the country. It’s almost a game of Where’s Waldo? at some Pro Days to see if Tomlin and/or Khan can be spotted, and if Tomlin or Khan isn’t there, it’s a safe bet a scout for Pittsburgh will be. During his end-of-season press conference, Tomlin talked about the Steelers’ approach to free agency and said the basis of their interest in a lot of free agents dates back to players that they had an interest in during their draft year.
“We’re open to doing business, certainly, and utilizing all things that our disposal to put together a strong group. We had some success in free agency last year, but as I’ve mentioned repeatedly in the past, oftentimes our interest in free agency really is just a continuation of draft interest that we might have had in someone,” Tomlin said via the team’s YouTube channel.
He gave two specific examples of talking to Allen Robinson II and Elandon Roberts, two players Pittsburgh acquired last offseason, at their Pro Days.
“I think back to a decade ago, meeting Allen Robinson and his family up at Penn State at his Pro Day. Kevin Colbert and I stood in the parking lot and talked to Elandon Roberts and his parents for an hour after the Houston Pro Day when he came out, what, eight or so years ago. And so, we’re certainly players and open to being players in free agency, but we like to track these guys. We like to track these guys as far back as we can track them and have that background, that knowledge of who they are. And usually that’s the basis of our interest.”
It’s not the first time that Tomlin has made these comments about the draft and free agency being intertwined. That is why it’s important to connect the dots between Pittsburgh’s pre-draft interest in players to see if there’s any sort of connection instead of blindly throwing out possible fits. The fact that Tomlin has continued to reiterate how important the draft process is when it comes to free agency is notable, and it’s clear that the team wants players it may already have some semblance of a relationship with or extra information on.
The Steelers are so thorough with the pre-draft process and doing research for draft prep that on top of the basis of interest, they already have a basis of knowledge about what a player can bring to the table and how they fit with the team. The Steelers aren’t the only team where you can connect dots from the draft to free agency, as it’s pretty clear that if a team had interest in a player once and he performs well enough to get another contract, a team will maintain its interest.
For Pittsburgh, it worked out last offseason when it signed Roberts, and he became a fan favorite for his willingness to play through injuries and performance to hold an inside linebacker room together after it was decimated by injuries. They acquired Robinson via trade, and while his numbers weren’t gaudy, he did his job and provided veteran leadership in a wide receiver room that sorely needed it. If the Steelers are able to hit on a player like Roberts in free agency again, it could wind up being a good offseason for Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh has a few holes to fill that can be plugged through free agency, and when free agency rolls around, it’s a good time to sort through Mike Tomlin’s previous Pro Day stops and potentially find a fit or two between player and team.
