While Pittsburgh Steelers have already begun to hit the scouting trail, they’re curiously the only team absent from the first big pro day of the season failing to attend the Purdue Boilermakers’ workout Wednesday. The Purdue Football Twitter/X account shared a list of the 31 teams that made the trip, the Steelers the only logo not to appear.
The school’s top prospect is easily offensive lineman Marcus Mbow. A top-tier athlete, he spent the last two years at right tackle but is most likely to kick inside to guard, the position he started at throughout the 2022 season. Our scouting report is high on him, noting his violent hands and burst out of his stance and in space that could make him a starter at the next level.
“Overall, Marcus Mbow is a fun prospect who flashes high-end tape,” we wrote in the conclusion of our report. “All the traits are there for him to become a quality starting lineman, though he’s best suited to kick back inside to guard rather than stay at tackle. If he plays with more control and coordination, his ceiling is high.
Zach Tom is a common comp for Mbow and a fair one. But I’ll offer Ali Marpet as mine.”
And gave him a low-end first-round grade. Mbow isn’t likely to be someone in position for Pittsburgh to draft, doubtful to invest another first-rounder in an offensive lineman, but he’s the big draw for teams to make the trip.
QB Hudson Card started the last two seasons though it would be surprising to see him drafted. A Texas transfer, he threw for nine touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2024 for a Purdue team that won just one game, blowing out FCS Indiana State to open the year before losing its next 11 games.
Center Gus Hartwig took part in this year’s East/West Shrine Bowl but reportedly struggled during the week. He does offer plenty of experience, starting 48 games for Purdue.
Besides Mbow, the rest of the group is likely to be undrafted and populate rookie minicamps on a tryout basis. Given that, it makes more sense for the Steelers to skip the workout. Still, it’s rare for them to be absent for a Pro Day attended by every other team and will be worth noting in our yearly Steelers Pro Day tracker, which we’ll publish within the next few days.
