Slowly but surely, ESPN’s Louis Riddick has become one of the best analysts out there surrounding the National Football League. That has also extended into his coverage of the NFL Draft in recent years.
When he speaks, ears perk up and take heed. Like when Riddick releases his list of favorite Day 1 prospects for ESPN Monday morning, as well as some sleepers he likes, and especially when those prospects he loves and sleepers he likes happen to include a couple of potential targets for the Pittsburgh Steelers that they’ve been linked to throughout the pre-draft process.
The Steelers need to address offensive tackle and cornerback, and throughout the process, they have been linked to Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga and Clemson’s Nate Wiggins. Turns out, those are two of Riddick’s favorite prospects in the draft class overall.
Fuaga is the player who has generated the most buzz out of the two for the Steelers throughout the pre-draft process. Steelers offensive line coach Pat Meyer was in attendance at the Oregon State Pro Day in Corvallis and put Fuaga through position drills. The Steelers also hosted the hulking product for a pre-draft visit while also meeting with him at the Senior Bowl in Mobile.
Riddick believes Fuaga will be an All-Pro in the NFL very quickly.
“This guy is absolutely dominant in every way you want an offensive tackle to be dominant,” Riddick says of the Oregon State product for ESPN.com. “…Fuaga can dance with the very best finesse pass-rushers and match them step for step as they try to work his edges with their hands and counter moves. We also see him set an anchor against power rushers and shut them down in their tracks with his lower-body strength on tape. He allowed just one sack over his 25-start college career.
“Fuaga will be an All-Pro in a very short period of time in the NFL — count on it.”
In a loaded draft class at the offensive tackle position, Fuaga seems to be generating more and more buzz as the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit draws closer. Right now, it feels like a bit of a stretch that Fuaga would be on the board at No. 20 overall, so a trade up from GM Omar Khan might be necessary to land a player that is plug-and-play immediately.
Fuaga measured in at 6056, 324 pounds, providing a massive presence at the tackle position. At the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, Fuaga recorded 33 1/8-inch arms, 10 1/8-inch hands, a 80 5/8-inch wingspan and recorded a 5.13 40-yard dash with a 1.78 10-yard split. Those numbers were good for a Relative Athletic Score from Kent Lee Platte of 9.59.
During his time at Oregon State, Fuaga started two seasons at right tackle and earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors. He played more than 1,500 snaps at right tackle and was a captain for the Beavers, fitting the hearts-and-smarts mold that the Steelers historically like.
Outside of Fuaga, Riddick loves Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins.
A former defensive back himself at the University of Pittsburgh and then with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and Atlanta Falcons, Riddick knows all too well about the position.
In Wiggins, Riddick sees a player who has an alpha mentality, which helps him not be concerned with Wiggins’ weight of just 173 pounds coming out of Clemson.
“Wiggins can press, he can play off-coverage, he can play zone, or he can lock you down in man coverage. He has excellent instincts, and he is really tough to deal with at the catch point thanks to his physicality,” Riddick said of Wiggins. “I think he is going to be productive the moment he steps on an NFL field for the first time this fall.”
The Steelers have shown quite a bit of interest in Wiggins throughout the pre-draft process.
The Steelers sent a large contingent to Clemson’s Pro Day, where Wiggins only participated in position drills. At the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, Wiggins measured in at 6013, 173 pounds with 30 1/2-inch arms, 9-inch hands, and a 74 1/4-inch wingspan. He clocked a 4.29 40-yard dash, lighting up stopwatches, and added a 36-inch vertical and a 10’9″ broad jump.
Though the Steelers traded for veteran cornerback Donte Jackson this offseason to pair with second-year pro Joey Porter Jr., the Steelers still need more at the position. Wiggins could be that guy after Pittsburgh hosted him for a pre-draft visit at the South Side facility and held a formal meeting with him at the Combine.
The Clemson cornerback recorded 29 total tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a defensive touchdown for the Tigers this season, with three interceptions total over the last two years.
Finally, in the sleeper category, Riddick spoke highly of Miami (FL) safety Kamren Kinchens, a player the Steelers got a good look at during his Pro Day thanks to former cornerback Ike Taylor.
Taylor was in attendance for the Steelers at the Hurricanes’ Pro Day and put Kinchens through position drills, speaking highly of him recently on the “Bleav In Steelers” podcast with co-host Mark Bergin, praising his footwork and burst.
For Riddick, Kinchens has the potential to be a star in the NFL.
“No safety in this class has better instincts and anticipation as a deep-field player, whether that be as a single safety in the middle of the field or in a split-safety structure. He is consistently a step ahead of the quarterback with his understanding of route concepts and ability to read the passer’s eyes and shoulder leans,” Riddick said of Kinchens for ESPN.com. “But Kinchens also shows the efficient transition mechanics and closing burst to get into position to make game-changing plays; he came down with 11 interceptions over 2022-23.
“And on top of the ball skills, the 5-foot-11, 203-pound safety can make the difficult open-field tackles in one-on-one situations (54 last season) and has shown disruptive blitz ability (26 pressures).”
At the Combine, Kinchens checked in at 5112, 203 pounds. Though he ran just a 4.65 40-yard dash, Kinchens had a 36-inch vertical and a 9’2″ broad jump, along with a 1.59 10-yard split.
He profiles as more of a centerfield-type safety, which would provide depth and talent to the position for the Steelers behind Minkah Fitzpatrick. If Kinchens were a Steelers draft pick, this could potentially allow Fitzpatrick to move around a bit more and wear different hats.
