INDIANAPOLIS – It was the third day of combine interviews (and the second day of workouts) and there are a ton of intriguing trends and storylines to keep an eye on for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The running backs, wide receivers, and quarterbacks were available to the media today while the cornerbacks, safeties and tight ends worked out.
All six of those positions are, to varied degrees, in play for the Steelers this offseason. It was a busy day for keeping up with the Steelers and we are already up to a whopping 29 of the 45 allotted formal meetings and another 33 informal meetings.
Here are five Steelers takeaways on day three of the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine from myself, Joe Clark, and Jonathan Heitritter.
Explosive DB Workouts
The defensive backs always have the most exciting workouts of the combine. The athleticism somehow gets more and more freaky every year.
One of my personal favorites, Iowa State CB Darien Porter had a hell of a workout. We knew he would run fast, but the question was whether he would have good burst and agility that is necessary for the position.
His three-cone drill time of 6.71 seconds led all defensive backs. Might I remind you that he is 6027, 195 pounds and ran a 4.3-second 40-yard dash with 33 1/8-inch arms. That is the definition of an avatar corner, much like the players the Steelers have been interested in lately.
Here are some other insane workout numbers for the DBs.
– Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston’s 40 time: 4.28 seconds
– South Carolina S Nick Emmanwori’s vertical jump: 43 inches
Those are just a few examples, but you can check out the full results on our live tracker below.
Quarterback Interest Is Real
Last year, the Steelers hadn’t formally met with a single quarterback. Kenny Pickett was still on the roster, yes, but it clearly wasn’t a “solved” position.
This time around, there is clearly interest in this quarterback group. It is unclear if they met with the top guys. Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Will Howard and Tyler Shough are unknown. But Jaxson Dart and Quinn Ewers had formal meetings with the Steelers. At least some people think Dart is among the top quarterbacks. Ewers is more of a mid to late round guy that some think could rise on the boards throughout the process.
I would be surprised if Howard hasn’t met with the Steelers, it just wasn’t possible to ask in his large media scrum of mostly Ohio State media asking college football questions.
Dart’s meeting is notable as he was at the Senior Bowl. The Steelers almost never use formal meetings at the combine on Senior Bowl folk. Omar Khan even confirmed that fact during one of the many stops on his combine media tour earlier in the week.
The Steelers are interested in the position and as of right now they still don’t have a quarterback under contract other than Skylar Thompson for 2025.
Due Diligence On Top Receivers
The Steelers failed to adequately address their wide receiver room across from George Pickens last offseason, and the team is doing their due diligence on all receivers, including those in the top of the draft.
Pittsburgh met with WRs Emeka Egbuka and Matthew Golden formally, and both are currently expected to be first round picks. Pittsburgh also had formal meetings with potential Day 2 prospects in Elic Ayomanor, Tre Harris and Tory Horton, while holding a number of informals with players who could be available late in Day 2 or on Day 3.
Omar Khan said upgrading the wide receiver room is a priority, and the Steelers are backing that up by meeting with a large number of receivers. If the Steelers don’t meaningfully address the position in free agency, adding someone early in the draft looks like a real option, and even if they do add in free agency, it still looks like a position that will be addressed at some point in the draft.
Safety Stock Rising
As Ross wrote, many DBs had impressive testing during today’s combine workout session. Many of those who impressed were safeties, including Malaki Starks and Nick Emmanwori, and as a whole, it was an impressive day for the crop of safeties.
With the strong testing, many safeties will see their stock rise in the draft, which could hurt Pittsburgh’s chances of finding a mid-round safety. While Pittsburgh was always more likely to sign rather than draft a safety in my opinion, the impressive testing will make it harder for the Steelers to find a potential impact player at the position in the middle rounds.
It’s still an underrated need for the Steelers, but it’s likely one that we’ll see addressed with a depth signing rather than a draft pick with the safety class being viewed in a more positive light after the impressive workouts today.
Preparing For Life After Najee Harris
The Pittsburgh Steelers are leaving no stones unturned when it comes to the running back position at the 225 NFL Combine, having formal interviews with 8-9 (uncertain if UNC RB Omarion Hampton was a formal) running backs.
Those names include Ashton Jeanty of Boise State,
Ollie Gordon II of Oklahoma State, Jordan James of Oregon, Kaleb Johnson of IIowa, DJ Giddens of Kansas State, Quinshon Judkins of Ohio State, Jaydon Blue of Texas, and TreVeyon Henderson of Ohio State.
It remains to be seen if Pittsburgh does decide to bring back Najee Harris who is scheduled to be a free agent this offseason, but if he were to hit the market, Pittsburgh is making sure they have done their due diligence to replace him in what is a deep running back class.
