The Steelers could be eyeing a cornerback with one of their top-two picks. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports (via Twitter) that the team will be hosting a pair defensive back prospects this week: Georgia’s Deandre Baker and Washington’s Byron Murphy.
Along with Temple’s Rock Ya-Sin and LSU’s Greedy Williams, both Baker and Murphy are expected to be taken at some point during the first two rounds. Baker won the Jim Thorpe Award for best collegiate cornerback in 2018 after he compiled 31 tackles, two sacks, nine passes defended, and a pair of interceptions in 12 games. Murphy earned a spot on the first-team All-Pac-12 list after putting up 37 tackles, four picks, and 13 interceptions.
As Fowler points out, this isn’t necessarily an ideal scenario for the Steelers. After all, the organization selected five cornerbacks between the 2015 and 2017 draft. Furthermore, their projected starters (Joe Haden and Steven Nelson) were both acquired via free agency.
Let’s check out some more draft notes from around the NFL…
- Michigan linebacker Devin Bush is set to visit with the Raiders, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com (via Twitter). The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year is a surefire first-rounder after putting up 85 tackles, 10 sacks, and 18.5 tackles for loss over the past two years. It’s unlikely Bush will be selected with the Raiders’ fourth-overall selection, but they could target him with either the 24th or 27th pick.
- Michigan defensive lineman Rashan Gary visited with the Bengals today and will visit the Giants later this week, reports NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). Gary is a consensus top-10 pick, and he could fall right into the Giants lap at No. 6. The Bengals currently have the 11th-overall pick, although we heard that the team could be interested in moving up. The lineman earned first-team All-Big 10 honors the past two seasons, and he finished his junior campaign with 3.5 sacks.
- The Eagles hosted a pair of prospects today, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (on Twitter). Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver and Ohio State wideout Parris Campbell both visited Denver. Oliver is generally expected to be selected in the first half of the first round, so it’s unlikely he’ll be around for the Eagles’ 25th-overall pick. On the flip side, Campbell should be readily available, although Philly should also have a chance on him with either of their second-rounders.
Steelers couldn’t draft a decent CB even if their life depended on it. Rod Woodson was drafted in 1908 so that doesn’t count.
Kind of hoping the Steelers are thinking of trading up, using their extra picks from the Raiders to grab a stud defender like Bush.
The Steelers will only trade up for a player if they are certain he will be impactful for the team and fill a specific need. The last 2 were Troy Polamalu and Casey Hampton.
I don’t think Bush falls to them since he’s such a clear need and several teams ahead of them need LB as well. The guy to trade up for would be Devin White, but that’s too far and too much to accomplish. I think they could stay at 20 and have Greedy Williams fall to them and that would be just fine thank you.
I also think that they purposely aren’t bringing Greedy in for a visit to hide their interest as several times in the last few years the players they desperately targeted went shortly before them (Leighton VanderEsch and William Jackson come to mind).
I mean, I’d be fine with Baker or Murphy too.
This is a good year for CB, so thinking they’ll take one Rd 1