UPDATE, 10:55 a.m.: Along with CB Mikey Victor, the Steelers hosted defensive end Nathan Pickering for a workout. Longtime NFL reporter Howard Balzer reported that Nathan Pickering worked out for the Steelers along with Victor.
Pickering measures in at 6036, 314 pounds and previously spent time with the Seattle Seahawks, after going undrafted out of Mississippi State in 2024.
Pickering signed with the Seahawks on May 13 and stuck with Seattle through training camp, before being waived with an injury settlement on Aug. 23 and then cut loose on Aug. 28.
Prior to landing with the Seahawks after the draft, Pickering competed in the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl after playing in 51 games with 30 starts at Mississippi State. Pickering recorded 124 career tackles, 30 tackles for loss, and 13.0 sacks in his college career.
Our original story on the Steelers’ workout is below.
Ahead of the Wild Card round matchup against the Baltimore Ravens Saturday night at 8 PM/ET., the Pittsburgh Steelers hosted a young cornerback with great length and NFL bloodlines.
According to NFL Insider Aaron Wilson, the Steelers worked out cornerback Mikey Victor Friday. Wilson also listed Ryan Pickering as a player the Steelers hosted for a workout, but there is no NFL player by the name of Ryan Pickering, so we’re awaiting more clarification from Wilson.
Victor, an undrafted free agent out of Alabama State in the 2024 NFL Draft, spent time with the New England Patriots in training camp before being waived on Aug. 26.
He’s the younger brother of former NFL linebacker Azeem Victor, who spent time with the Las Vegas Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks.
Victor competed in the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl in Dallas and brings great size and length to the position, which fits the new mold at cornerback in the NFL. Victor checked in at 6023, 205 pounds and clocked a reported 4.67 40-yard dash during his Pro Day, which was held at Alabama.
Victor also measured in with 33.5-inch arms and an 80 5/8-inch wingspan.
Victor played 87 snaps defensively in the preseason for the Patriots, according to Pro Football Focus. He graded out at a 76.8 overall, including a 77.3 in coverage. Victor allowed three receptions on seven targets for just 33 yards, breaking up one pass.
Victor also played another 29 snaps on special teams in the preseason, including seven on kick returns, eight on punt returns, four on kick coverage, five on punt coverage and five on the field goal-block team. He had one tackle on special teams in the preseason.
During his college career, Victor had 55 tackles, one tackle for loss, 21 passes defensed and three interceptions.
Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora did a profile on Victor ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft last year and wrote that Victor’s size and length were ideal, and that he knows how to play with his size, but that his speed is a concern. Kozora compared him to former New England Patriots cornerback Joejuan Williams.
“Overall, Mikey Victor has impressive size at corner but lacks the twitch and long speed to stay there, except for potentially heavy Cover 2 teams where he could reroute and jam, though he’ll have to show better tackling to play in the flats,” Kozora wrote in the draft profile for Steelers Depot. “He’s likely going to be moved to free safety (again, tackling must even out to play in space as a last line of defense). He’d be an interesting add as an undrafted free agent or potentially seventh-round flier but it’s hard to invest more than that.”
Check out Kozora’s report on Victor below.
