So far in the pre-draft process, the Pittsburgh Steelers have focused rather heavily on the offensive and defensive line, receiver and cornerback.
Obviously, those are some of the biggest needs for the Steelers entering the draft in Detroit. To date, the Steelers have had 27 of the 30 official visits, at least according to Steelers Depot’s tracker.
Turns out, one visit wasn’t reported and it’s a rather big one, that being Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
According to The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly, McConkey recently came to Pittsburgh for a pre-draft visit, though that wasn’t reported at the time.
In a piece highlighting the 35 players that could be draft picks for the Steelers, Kaboly made a passing comment about McConkey in the first round, revealing he had a pre-draft visit.
“McConkey was in for a visit, after a three-year career at Georgia,” Kaboly writes regarding McConkey, according to theathletic.com.
McConkey is the seventh receiver the Steelers have reportedly hosted for a pre-draft visit, joining the likes of Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley, Texas’ Adonai Mitchell, Florida’s Ricky Pearsall, South Carolina’s Xavier Legette, USC’s Tahj Washington and Rice’s Luke McCaffrey.
McConkey has been a popular name throughout the pre-draft process with some ties to the Steelers due to his route running and overall play style as a true X receiver, which would complement George Pickens quite well in the Steel City.
During his time in Athens, McConkey played in 39 games for the Bulldogs and hauled in 119 passes for 1,687 yards and 14 touchdowns. Last season, McConkey struggled with injuries and played in just nine games. In those nine games he hauled in 30 passes for 478 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Measuring in at 5115, 186 pounds with 8 5/8-inch hands and 30 1/4-inch arms, McConkey is on the smaller side overall, but he had some impressive testing numbers, clocking a 4.39 40-yard dash, a 36-inch vertical and a 10’4″ broad jump. He scored a 9.33 Relative Athletic Score from Kent Lee Platte.
In McConkey’s scouting report for Steelers Depot, Alex Kozora had this to say about the former Georgia standout, comparing him to Commanders’ receiver Jahan Dotson:
“Overall, McConkey has quality tape. He’s athletic, nuanced, and quick with solid hands, versatility, and high character. He’ll need to keep adding strength, refining his technique off the line and rounding out his route tree. Don’t count on him being a No. 1/high volume receiver in an NFL offense, capping his value, but he could carve out a solid role in the NFL. Putting him in the slot is his best fit but he can move around in an NFL offense.”
With a clear-cut need at the receiver position following the trade of Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers, the Steelers are doing their due diligence on the receiver position, both in the draft and through the trade market. Chances are, they draft a receiver rather than swing a trade for a big-name weapon.
After sending head coach Mike Tomlin, GM Omar Khan, OC Arthur Smith and more to the Georgia Pro Day, meeting with McConkey at the Senior Bowl and now reportedly hosting him for a pre-draft visit, some of the dots are starting to line up for the Georgia receiver and the Black and Gold.
