The Pittsburgh Steelers met with Colorado EDGE BJ Green II and Utah RB Micah Bernard at the Hula Bowl, per Ryan Fowler of The Draft Network.
Green led the Big 12 with 43 pressures this season and totaled 33 total tackles and 7.5 sacks. He began his career at Arizona State, and in three seasons with the Sun Devils, Green had 13.5 sacks, including five as a freshman and six as a junior. He also has three forced fumbles in his career, with two coming last season with Colorado. He finished his season on a high note, as Green had 4.5 of his seven sacks in Colorado’s last four regular season games. He’s listed at 6-0 and 260 pounds.
Pittsburgh has solid depth at EDGE, with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig, but who will be their fourth outside linebacker next season is still up in the air. OLB Preston Smith is likely to be cut, and while Jeremiah Moon has the inside track to the job and also provides special teams value, the Steelers may be looking for an upgrade at the position. They also rostered five outside linebackers after acquiring Smith, and they could look to do so again, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them continue to meet with EDGE rushers ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Bernard is experienced, as he spent six seasons at Utah. 2024 was his most productive, as he ran the ball 197 times for 1,009 yards and added 30 receptions for 150 yards. He had four rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns. Listed at 6-0 and 202 pounds, Bernard also put up a pair of 500-plus yard seasons on the ground, as he ran for 523 yards on 87 carries in 2021 and 533 yards on 106 carries in 2022. He’s dealt with injuries throughout his college career, as a season-ending eye injury limited him to just two games in 2023, per Sports Illustrated.
He also dealt with an ankle injury early in the 2024 season, according to The Deseret News, but he still managed to play in 12 games for the Utes. But when he’s been healthy, he’s been productive, especially on a per-rush basis, as he averaged 5.3 yards per carry for his career at Utah. He was a three-star recruit out of high school in 247Sports’ rankings.
With RB Najee Harris likely to depart as a free agent, the Steelers will seek running back help in the draft and/or free agency to find someone to pair with Jaylen Warren and potentially Cordarrelle Patterson. The Steelers also met with UCF RB Peny Boone at the Hula Bowl, so the team has been doing their due diligence on prospects at the position.
