Ferris State CB Shon Stephens, the cousin of Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr., has accepted invites to both the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie minicamp, per Justin Melo of The Draft Network.
Melo notes that the Eagles could sign Stephens on the spot, and their rookie minicamp will presumably be sooner than Pittsburgh’s, which would allow them to do so. If Stephens goes unsigned by Philadelphia, he’ll make his way to Pittsburgh to try and earn a roster spot with the Steelers. He had a meeting with the Eagles prior to the draft, per Ryan Fowler of Bleacher Report, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that the team is still interested in Stephens.
The Steelers didn’t address cornerback in the draft until the sixth round, taking Texas’ Ryan Watts, and the team has intriguing pieces but not a lot of reliable depth behind Porter and Donte Jackson. Stephens could try to work his way into that mix after recording 16 interceptions over the last two seasons at Ferris State, a Division II program.
Stephens said earlier this month that he would have a pre-draft visit with the Steelers, but that visit was never reported and in our pre-draft visit tracker, we concluded it didn’t happen. We do know that the Steelers saw Stephens work out at Michigan State’s Pro Day, where he had 19 reps on the bench press, a 10″ broad jump and a 36.5-inch vertical leap. He also reportedly ran a 40-yard dash in the 4.3s.
Given the love of bloodlines in the Steelers organization, it comes as little surprise that the team hopes to give Stephens a look at rookie minicamp. Given the team’s lack of depth at cornerback and Stephens’ intriguing testing numbers while being listed at 6-0 and 180 pounds, he could be an intriguing prospect to watch if he does make his way to Pittsburgh’s rookie minicamp.
The team signed five undrafted free agents yesterday, and with three open roster spots remaining, Stephens will have a chance to play his way onto Pittsburgh’s roster if Philadelphia doesn’t sign him first.
