Every NFL Draft prospect’s focus is the task at hand. They do their best in every meeting, drill and opportunity to improve their draft stock and impress teams. There’s not much time to think about the big picture. But for Troy EDGE Javon Solomon, he couldn’t help but feel a little star-struck meeting Mike Tomlin.
Appearing on Up and Adams with Kay Adams on Monday, Solomon described meeting Tomlin.Â
“I can give you one word. I was like, ‘wow,'” Solomon told Adams. “I was stunned. I tell people this all the time. Before I was a player, I was a fan of the game. I used to love to watch football and be around it. When I’m walking away and I see Mike Tomlin, I’m like, hold on, hold on now. A guy I used to see on TV for years and years.
“He brought me to the side and whispered some stuff in my ear. He made me see the game in a different light. He maybe understands something that not all people get a grasp of. It kind of makes you understand people are people. People are human. And I got a good gravitational pull from him and what he was telling me and what he was preaching.”
It’s unclear if this conversation occurred at the Senior Bowl or the NFL Combine, as Solomon attended both. Tomlin is as active as any of the coaches not actually assigned to a team, always on the field and chatting up players. According to our tracker, based on the information our Steelers Depot team provided us at Indy, Solomon had an informal meeting with the Steelers.Â
Though Pittsburgh isn’t in the market for an early-round EDGE rusher, Solomon is still someone worth knowing. A stocky build at 6007, 246 pounds, he possesses good length with nearly 34-inch arms and tested well at the Combine, a 1.66 ten split with a 37-inch vertical. There’s on-field production to match, busting out for 18 TFL and 16 sacks in 2023. That included a 4-sack performance against UL-Monroe, while his 16 takedowns held an outright lead at the FBS level.
Our scouting report on Solomon compared him to Detroit Lions’ pass rusher James Houston and tabbed him as a Day Three selection. With Markus Golden a free agent, it’s not out of the question the Steelers add another EDGE rusher, though Nick Herbig and offseason addition Jeremiah Moon will serve as quality depth behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
Like many prospects, his meeting with Tomlin was special regardless of where he ends up. Tomlin’s ability to immediately connect with players sets him apart from most head coaches. That’s partially because he simply shows up and is visible at events like the Senior Bowl, where other coaches watch from the press box or don’t attend at all. It also helps that Tomlin has been coaching since many players, like Javon Solomon, were kids and has been someone they could follow throughout their career. It’s a rare moment of continuity in an ever-changing NFL landscape.
