With the pro day circuit mostly concluded for the 2024 pre-draft process, the focus now shifts to the pre-draft visits as the last piece of the puzzle before the draft in a little over three weeks. According to Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on X, the Steelers are hosting four prospects today for visits. That list includes LSU DL Maason Smith, USC WR Tahj Washington, Pitt OL Matt Goncalves, and Pitt CB M.J. Devonshire.
Three of the four had previously been reported as having visits and aren’t new news, but Smith is now being officially confirmed after posting a photo on social media Tuesday evening in Pittsburgh.
Smith is one of the few DL prospects in this draft who fits what the Steelers look for at the position with his measurables. At the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, he measured in at 6051, 306 pounds, with 35-inch arms. He has the size and length to play any position along the Steelers’ defensive front. The Steelers recently addressed DL depth with the addition of Dean Lowry, but both he and Larry Ogunjobi will be turning 30 years old in June, and Cameron Heyward is in the final years of his career.
Defensive line is a sleeper position to be selected in the early rounds of the draft, and Smith would be a good player to target. Steelers DL coach Karl Dunbar was in attendance at his pro day in March.
Washington was productive in his final season at USC while playing with Caleb Williams with over 1,000 yards receiving and eight touchdowns. He has a small frame at 5096, 174 pounds, and didn’t participate in drills at the Combine. At his pro day, his 40-yard dash time was a little lower than anticipated with just a reported 4.58. He started his career at Memphis, where he was teammates with current Steelers WR Calvin Austin III.
The other two players, Goncalves and Devonshire, are Pitt prospects and thus do not count against the 30-visit limit. Goncalves had a toe injury in 2023 that cut his season short, but he has versatility to play on either the right or left side and could be an option in the mid-to-late rounds of the draft if they don’t end up addressing the tackle position early. He measured in at 6062, 327 pounds, with 33 1/4-inch arms at the Combine.
Devonshire played his first two seasons at Kentucky prior to transferring to Pitt and had 89 total tackles, 57 solo tackles, 23 passes defensed, eight interceptions, and three defensive touchdowns in his collegiate career. He measured in at 5106, 186 pounds, with 32 7/8-inch arms at the Combine. He played the majority of his college snaps out wide as a corner with very little experience moving around in the slot.
This brings the list of total known visits to 16, with only 14 counting against the 30-visit limit. Each team only gets to bring in 30 players, excluding local prospects. This list is very important to pay attention to as last year the Steelers drafted four players from the pre-draft visit list and added a fifth in CB Darius Rush later in the season.
