Every NFL team is permitted to host 30 players at their practice facility during the pre-draft process. Local athletes can also visit without counting against that total. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, that would include prospects from Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia, along with any who grew up in the Pittsburgh area.
These visits often give us clues about which players or positions the Steelers will be targeting. In 2023, for example, the team’s top four draft picks (Broderick Jones, Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton and Darnell Washington) all visited before the draft. Last year, Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier, Payton Wilson, Mason McCormick, Logan Lee and Beanie Bishop visited.
In the weeks leading up to the draft, we’ll be tracking all of the visitors here. At the end of the process, we’ll break down what we learned.
Jayden Higgins, WR, Iowa State
Visit: March 17
A bit of a late bloomer, Higgins was a two-star prospect when he enrolled at Eastern Kentucky. The Florida native played two seasons there before transferring to Iowa State. After earning All-Big 12 honorable mention honors as a junior, he enjoyed a breakout senior season, posting 87 catches for 1,183 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, the second-best single season for an ISU receiver in all three categories.
Measuring 6-foot-4 and 217 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine, Higgins played inside and outside in college. Many evaluators see his highest ceiling as a big slot. He’s a willing blocker, which would fit the Steelers’ identity, has a large catch radius and good hands. One of the question marks about his game is his explosiveness (which is part of why he might fit better inside). He might have answered that question, to a degree, by running a 4.47 40-yard dash at the combine.
Higgins also participated in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, where the Steelers often like to find prospects.
Dylan Sampson, RB, Tennessee
Visit: March 14
The Steelers’ running back room began to transform on the opening week of free agency, as 2021 first-round pick Najee Harris bolted for the Chargers, Jaylen Warren received a second-round restricted free agent tender and former Eagle Kenneth Gainwell signed a one-year deal.
Still, expect the Steelers to continue to evaluate many options in a deep and talented running back class that features something for everyone. In my mock draft 1.0, I projected Sampson to the Steelers in the third round.
A track star in high school, he was reportedly clocked at 22-23 mph on the Catapult in college. While it was disappointing that he chose not to run at the combine, he reportedly clocked a 4.42 40-yard dash at his pro day this week.
While he’s somewhat on the smaller side at 5-foot-8 and 200 pounds, he was plenty physical and durable in the SEC, leading all ball carriers with 258 carries, 1,491 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns in 2024.
“I take a lot of pride in it because people didn’t think I could do it,” Sampson said at the combine. “A lot of people thought we should have went out and got another back.”
Sampson, who never fumbled in three years, doesn’t turn 21 until September. The Steelers often like to draft younger players who have more room for growth in the middle rounds. Sampson also seems like a high-character individual, as his high school football coach joked he had a higher GPA (4.4) than 40-yard dash time (reportedly 4.32 in high school). He also stepped into a leadership role early at Tennessee.
“Leadership doesn’t start with a position or a role on the depth chart,” Sampson said at the combine. “Coach (Josh Heupel) put me on the leadership council when I was a sophomore, the third running back coming off the bench. Guys like Joe Milton and the rest of the seniors trusted me to give the pregame speech my sophomore year even though I knew the very first place I would be (when the game started) was the sideline.”
Sampson would be a scheme fit, as he excelled in outside zone, but the question is whether the Steelers would prefer a bigger, more bruising back instead of another back with a similar stature to Warren and Gainwell.
Savion Williams, WR, TCU
Visit: March 14
If Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith likes Cordarrelle Patterson (which, we know he does), he’ll surely be intrigued by Williams, a 6-4, 222-pound joker who lined up at receiver, running back and wildcat QB. During his fifth and final season in 2024, he racked up 60 catches for 611 yards and six touchdowns to go along with 51 carries for 322 yards and six more TDs. He also returned 14 kicks for 312 yards (22.3 average) during his freshman season.
Though Williams is an explosive athlete for his size, running a 4.48 40-yard dash at the combine, the knocks on him are that he’s not a polished route runner and his drop rate exceeded 10 percent for his career. Even with these drawbacks, he’d give the Steelers an interesting wild card late on Day 2 or early on Day 3. Many Steelers receivers, from Antonio Brown to Calvin Austin III, began as returners before carving out a larger niche for themselves. Given his body type and potential, maybe the same could be true for Williams.
Yahya Black, NT, Iowa
Visit: March 14
The Steelers have stated their goal is to build a big, physical football team. Black, at 6-5 and 336 pounds, fits that mold. He also has 35-inch arms and a wingspan greater than seven feet.
A two-year starter at Iowa, where he played alongside Steelers 2024 draft pick Logan Lee, Black tallied 85 tackles (12 for loss) during the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined. He earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors in each of those years and participated in the Senior Bowl, where the Steelers love to find prospects.
The projection is easy for Black, as he would fit as a nose tackle in the Steelers’ base 3-4 defense, which could afford Keeanu Benton the opportunity to bump over to the 3-4 end position. However, it might take time for that evolution, as Black is expected to be a Day 3 pick. He also would likely only factor into the base defense, as he offers little from a pass-rush perspective.
Tyler Shough, QB, Louisville
Visit: March 6
A four-star prospect out of Chandler, Ariz., the 6-foot-5, 224-pound Shough began a long and winding college football journey at Oregon in 2018. After backing up Justin Herbert for two years, Shough ascended into the starting role in 2020. He completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,559 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions to lead the Ducks to the PAC-12 championship game.
He transferred to Texas Tech in 2021, where injury concerns emerged. First, Shough broke his collarbone in 2021. Then in 2022, he sustained another shoulder injury in the season opener. The bad luck continued in Shough’s sixth year of eligibility in 2023, when the QB broke his fibula four games into the season.
For the second time in his career, Shough transferred ahead of the 2024. He landed at Louisville, where he worked alongside QB whisperer/head coach Jeff Brohm. The marriage was a perfect fit, as Shough led the Cardinals to an 8-4 record in a pass-happy offense, racking up 3,195 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Shough is already 25, but he has several high-end physical traits. He has a prototypical frame, good mobility and one of the strongest arms in this year’s class. In many of his highlights, his ball placement and anticipation stand out, especially against zone coverages.
The Athletic’s draft analyst Dane Brugler ranked Shough 59th in his most recent top 100. It will be fascinating to see where Shough is picked. He’s been rising up draft boards after strong showings at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine. He would make the most sense for the Steelers as a late Day 2, early Day 3 gamble.
JJ Pegues, DT, Ole Miss
Visit: March 6
Dating back to his high school days in Oxford, Miss., Pegues has been a freakish athlete, including when he posted a 4.79 40-yard dash and 34-inch vertical at 280 pounds at The Opening, a premier high school scouting event. However, tapping into that athleticism has been a process. Pegues began his college career as a tight end at Auburn. After his true freshman season in 2020, he transitioned to the defensive line in 2021.
That process continued at Ole Miss, where Pegues ascended into a starting role in 2023 and 2024, filling out his frame to 320 pounds. He’d likely fit the mold in Pittsburgh as a 3-4 defensive end or a rotational rusher in sub packages.
As you’d expect with a player who made a late position change, Pegues is not a finished product. That’s reflected in Brugler’s evaluation, as he did not land in the top 100. However, given his frame and athletic makeup, Pegues would be an interesting developmental piece if he’s available at the end of Day 2 or early on Day 3.
Wyatt Milum, OL, West Virginia (local)
Visit: March 6
The Steelers already went into their backyard to address their offensive line once, when they took Zach Frazier in the second round of the 2024 draft. Perhaps they will target his teammate this year. Milum, a 6-6, 315-pound athlete, began his collegiate career at right tackle before transitioning to the left side. He was part of a steady offensive line that led the way for the nation’s fifth-ranked rushing attack in 2023 (222.7 yards per game) and 27th-ranked rushing attack in 2024 (185.9).
Though most of Milum’s experience in college was at tackle, many believe he’d benefit from a move inside to guard. He’d be a possibility on Day 3 as a developmental piece with some positional flexibility in case of emergency.
(Photo: Chris Gardner / Getty Images)
