Largely speaking, not much about the Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Day cycle surprised me. We’ll get into specifics and recap this year’s tracking later this week, but off the top, it was a typical year. However, one aspect raised an eyebrow. It didn’t have to do with where a coach or scout attended. It was the absence of one. Based on our tracker, DBs Coach Grady Brown didn’t attend a single Pro Day.
The usual disclaimer. Our tracker is not perfect. It’s not batting 1.000. There are always things that we end up missing here and there, and last year, we didn’t even know Brown attended Michigan’s Pro Day until the team’s “The Standard” series released days before the 2023 draft showed him there.
But our tracker is about as good as you’re going to find. We were able to find more Steelers coaches and scouts this year than ever. Information from people like Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy, who often tweeted out where marquee positional coaches, coordinators, head coaches, and general managers attended. Especially for all the major Pro Days.
Pittsburgh’s positional coaches were on the trail this year. Offensive line coach Pat Meyer got friendly with the west coast, attending Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington. Aaron Curry hit up Ohio State, Kentucky, and North Carolina, a likely sign the Steelers will draft an inside linebacker at some point. WRs Coach Zach Azzanni attended a pair of schools, Western Kentucky and Texas, while Karl Dunbar was present at LSU, and new QBs Coach Tom Arth showed up at South Alabama. Brown? We’ve come up empty.
In fairness, he wasn’t the only one. We didn’t see RBs Coach Eddie Faulkner, TEs Coach Alfredo Roberts, or OLBs Coach Denzel Martin. But the Steelers are well-stocked at those positions and are doubtful to draft, especially nothing within the first two days. Brown and Pittsburgh’s secondary isn’t in that camp. It’s a serious need.
Donte Jackson helps mask the issues at outside corner. He can and likely will be the 2024 start opposite Joey Porter Jr. But depth behind is thin and Jackson’s a free agent after the season. The long-term future is murky. Darius Rush and Cory Trice Jr. will compete, but there are unknowns with lots of questions. Rush played on three teams as a rookie, while Trice is coming off a torn ACL, the latest in a long line of knee and leg injuries.
And the slot? We’ve written about it before. Completely wide-open. My guess is the team is open to re-signing Chandon Sullivan or Patrick Peterson after the draft, perhaps Sullivan will come the week before. But at the moment, there’s a tumbleweed covering opposing slot receivers in 2024, and that’s a big-time concern.
Grady Brown isn’t required to attend Pro Days for the team to draft the position. It’s not a mandate. Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin were all over the trail while Ike Taylor made a couple of stops, all great secondary coaches and minds. But you’d think if the team were going to address the position with urgency, the same urgency they’ve shown throughout the offseason, Brown would be a more visible face.
Maybe this is over-analyzing. It’s not to necessarily sound alarm bells. But if we’re talking out loud, the Steelers aren’t going to be able to draft all their needs early. Offensive tackle, center, wide receiver, inside linebacker, inside and outside cornerback spots. And perhaps that means corner isn’t as high on their list. Maybe they will roll with Jackson, re-sign one (or even both) of Peterson and Sullivan, draft a corner later in the weekend, and hope their young guys develop. A less-than-ideal plan but possibly their plan. If that comes to fruition, Grady Brown’s absence will have been the clue.
