Mobile, Alabama-Maryland WR Tai Felton managed to save his best season for last in 2024, building off a strong 2023 campaign to finish with 92 receptions for 1,124 yards and nine touchdowns in his final season with the Terrapins.
When I spoke with Felton about his breakout senior season at the Senior Bowl, he attributed it to the physical work he put in this offseason and to improving his mentality regarding himself and his goals.
“I would say my work ethic,” Felton told me at the Media Day in Mobile. “Man, I just stepped it up, realizing that I had one more year to put the best NFL product on the field. I also got my mental game right. I started talking to myself way better and having positive thoughts and reading and writing down my goals every day.”
Tai Felton is a well-rounded receiver who primarily played the Z-receiver in Maryland’s offensive system. Still, he moved around a fair amount under head coach Mike Locksley and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. He is of decent height at 6005 but weighs only 186 pounds, having a little bit of a frail frame that could stand to add some mass. Still, he has shown that he can fight through coverage well and make plays over the middle, stating that he could make an ideal complement to Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens if he were to end up in the Black and Gold this spring.
“I feel like I’m a three-level receiver,” Felton told me at the Senior Bowl. “I can catch a hitch route and turn upfield and do something with it. I can run the intermediate routes. So, I feel like being with a guy like [George Pickens], man, he’ll make me a better player too, because he’s a dog. His mentality too, so me being matched up with him, it’d be unstoppable, for sure.”
Tai Felton is no stranger to the Steelers. He has known Mike Tomlin for the last several years thanks to Tomlin’s son, who attended Maryland before transferring to Boston College.
“So Dino Tomlin is actually Mike Tomlin’s son, and I played with him at Maryland,” Felton said. “Me and Dino, we’re still very good friends and talk to this day. So Coach Tomlin has been in my ear this whole time that I’ve been down here at the Senior Bowl. But he was checking in with me, checking on my blocking and stuff, and I met with him too, so that was a cool meeting.”
Dino Tomlin and Tai Felton were teammates at Maryland for a year back in 2021 before Tomlin transferred to Boston Boston for the 2022 season. They shared the same position room, so it’s no wonder that Felton got to meet Mike Tomlin when on campus. Apparently, Tomlin didn’t forget Felton when his son transferred, as the two remained in contact with that relationship, which was renewed here at the Senior Bowl, as Tomlin has been up close and personal with the players.
The Steelers could use more wide receiver help this offseason, and Tai Felton could be a quality mid-round option to consider, given his connections back to the organization, his character, and his skill set. He’s had a good week down here so far, but he will have to prove his athleticism down in Indianapolis at the Combine to answer any questions about his long-speed and short-area quickness.
