It has been a busy day at the Pittsburgh Steelers facility Tuesday. The team is hosting four prospects for pre-draft visits ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. Per Steelers.com’s Dale Lolley, the four players are Florida State DL Braden Fiske, Kentucky CB Andru Phillips, Penn State CB Daequan Hardy, and Western Kentucky WR Malachi Corley.
Three of the four visits — Fiske, Phillips, and Corley — were already reported to occur, though now we know the official date. Hardy is a new name to the list, a Pittsburgh-area native who should be a local visit and not count against the team’s allotted 30 visits.
Fiske is a top-round prospect with explosiveness but lacks length, with just 31-inch arms, usually a requirement to play defensive line in Pittsburgh. Still, his visit speaks to an obvious level of interest. In our scouting report, Ross McCorkle highlighted Fiske’s snap timing and burst, tape backed up by the 4.78 40 he ran at the NFL Scouting Combine while weighing in at 6035, 292 pounds. But a lack of pass-rush moves and age — he turned 24 in January — will hurt him. In his college career at Western Michigan and Florida State, he recorded 36 tackles for a loss with 19.5 sacks. He’s viewed as a second-round pick.
Phillips is a physical slot corner with light production but good testing in the pre-draft process. Weighing in at 5106, 190 pounds, he ran a 4.48 40 with a wicked 42-inch vertical and 11’3″ broad jump at the Combine. Over the last two years at Kentucky, he recorded 10 pass breakups but failed to intercept a pass. Our Phillips scouting report noted his powerful tackling but also pointed out that he can be too physical in coverage, leading to penalties. He is viewed as a Day 2 pick, likely going in the third round. That’s where we slotted him in today’s Steelers mock draft.
Hardy is another nickel corner who lacks size but has plus ball skills. Measuring in at 5093, 173 pounds, he impressed by running a 4.39 40. His production, five career picks and two punt return touchdowns, will also help his cause. Our Hardy scouting report credited his quick downhill trigger and special teams value while pointing out the difficulty he had jamming and re-routing receivers off the line. He will likely hear his name called on Day 3.
Corley is part of a deep draft class at receiver, a Deebo Samuel type with a stocky build and YAC ability, our Jonathan Heitritter noting his impressive play speed and explosiveness. But we also noted a lack of a second gear from a receiver who didn’t run a full route tree at Western Kentucky. Over the last two years with the Hilltoppers, he caught 180 passes for nearly 2,300 yards and 22 touchdowns. Unable to work at the Combine due to COVID, his Pro Day was a large NFL draw, bringing Steelers WRs Coach Zach Azzanni to town. Corley weighed in at 5105, 215 pounds and ran in the 4.4s. A strong receiver class makes Corley’s projection more difficult, but he should be a top-75 pick with an outside chance of sneaking into the final few picks of the first round.
Pittsburgh has needs at all three positions. Defensive line depth is thin behind starters Cam Heyward, Keeanu Benton, and Larry Ogunjobi. The team has no proven slot corners with Chandon Sullivan still a free agent and following Patrick Peterson’s release, though it’s possible one of those players could re-sign. And wide receiver has little opposite George Pickens, despite the team’s several free agent adds.
The NFL Draft kicks off April 25. Excluding local visits, our Steelers pre-draft tracker is up to 13 names the team has or will bring in for visits.
