The Pittsburgh Steelers recently held a pre-draft visit with Missouri DL Darius Robinson, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported. Robinson reportedly has 20 visits and meetings scheduled with teams ahead of the draft.
Robinson has been considered a first-round talent, and given his measurables at 6051 and 285 pounds, he’s an intriguing talent, although potentially a little too light for what the Steelers traditionally covet in their defensive linemen. In his scouting report, Alex Kozora wrote that he thinks Robinson would be better suited for a 4-3 scheme but noted that if he can add weight, he could be a fit for the Steelers.
Robinson is coming off a season where he had 8.5 sacks and 14 tackles for a loss for Missouri, and the fact that he had a pre-draft visit in Pittsburgh shows that the team has at least some level of further interest in Robinson. ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid is high on the fit for Robinson in Pittsburgh, calling him a “Steelers-ey” defensive lineman. If he slides out of the first round, there’s a chance he could slide to Pittsburgh’s second-round pick, albeit unlikely, and given the Steelers’ current needs, that’s probably where they’d look to select a player like Robinson.
While the team’s defensive line depth is minimal, its need at center is definitely higher, and you could make a good argument the team’s current need at wide receiver is too. However, that could always change by draft day with free agency ongoing.
In Daniel Jeremiah’s latest mock draft, he had Robinson going at No. 26 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so a slide to Pittsburgh’s selection at No. 51 definitely seems unlikely. However, there’s still over a month until the draft and teams are still working on setting their boards, so stranger things have happened.
There are a lot of directions the Steelers can go in this draft, and Robinson is a player who’s picked up some steam lately when it comes to moving up draft boards. We’ll see just how serious Pittsburgh’s interest ends up being. Robinson’s Pro Day is on Friday, and we’ll be looking for whom the Steelers send to Missouri.
