The Pittsburgh Steelers filled a hole at cornerback by trading for Donte Jackson, but could they potentially add a first-round pick to the mix in someone like Nate Wiggins? Offensive players, particularly linemen, are getting all the first-round attention, but the Steelers don’t let the media assemble their draft board.
The Steelers brought in Wiggins, the Clemson product, for a pre-draft visit last week, presumably as a first-round target. He’s not going to stymie any nose tackles or neutralize an elite edge rusher, but perhaps he’ll cover Ja’Marr Chase. Former Steelers ILB Levon Kirkland is rooting for that possibility, as he said on 93.7 The Fan last week.
“The guy can make plays, the guy can shut people down”, he told Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller. “Long arms, a willing tackler, a really good football player. This guy is going to go in the first round, no doubt about it, but I hope [Nate Wiggins] does go to Pittsburgh. I really do. I think that would really make them solid as far as the corners are concerned. He’s a player, he really is”.
As Alex Kozora wrote yesterday, we do have to take the possibility seriously of a first-round cornerback, including Wiggins. After all, they drafted Joey Porter Jr. 32nd overall last year after adding Patrick Peterson, and they struck out on the old veteran. Yes, they have Jackson now, but he’s also an older player on a one-year deal and a spotty track record. Plus, you need more than two cornerbacks, and they barely have that.
The concern with the 173-pound Wiggins on the field is if he has the size to play the way the Steelers want their cornerbacks to play. Even Porter went through his growing pains matching their required level of physicality and effort in run support. Kirkland acknowledges that he’s not the biggest, most physical cornerback in the world, but noted that he doesn’t shy from contact.
“I’ve seen him stick his nose in there as far as the run is concerned. That’s why I say he’s a willing tackler”, he emphasized about Wiggins. “I mean, he’s not Rod Woodson or anybody like that, but he’s a guy who will go in there and make a tackle. But more than anything, he’s gonna shut you down as far as passing the ball is concerned”.
“Is he a good enough tackler to be a first rounder? That’s something that Pittsburgh will have to answer. But I really like the guy”.
Kirkland, mind you, is a South Carolina native who graduated from Clemson. He currently serves as the university’s Football Name, Image & Likeness Coordinator, which is now a thing in college sports. We don’t even need to point out the fact that he has some biases involved here.
But that Wiggins is a first-round talent doesn’t need a fellow alum to convey. We’ve been talking about Wiggins as a potential first-round candidate for the Steelers since before the NFL Scouting Combine. Granted, that was before they acquired Jackson, but also before they cut Peterson.
