Steelers Host Athletic Iowa Defensive Tackle on Pre-Draft Visit

The Pittsburgh Steelers are hosting Iowa defensive lineman Logan Lee for a pre-draft visit on Monday. Lee, 23, was a three-year starter on the defensive line for Iowa, playing mostly three-technique tackle in their 4-2-5 base defense.

Lee started 40 consecutive games over his final three seasons for the Hawkeyes, with remarkably consistent production. He had 48 tackles, five tackles for a loss and three sacks in 2021; 54 tackles, eight tackles for loss and three sacks in 2022; and 55 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks in 2023. He was a two-time All-Big Ten selection.

The Steelers previously scouted Lee at the 2024 NFL Combine, where the Orion, Illinois native checked in at 6-foot-5 and 281 pounds, with 32 1/4-inch arms. He ran a 5.05-second 40-yard dash, 4.37-second shuttle and 7.16-second three-cone drill, and posted a vertical jump of 31.5 inches and a broad jump of 9-foot-6 inches. He has a total Relative Athletic Score of 9.20 out of 10.

Lee is projected to be a Day Three draft pick, with his current NFL Mock Draft Database average selection at No. 207 overall in the sixth round. The Steelers have two picks in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Cardinals choice at No. 178 and their own pick at No. 195.

The Steelers do not need bodies at defensive tackle, as they have lost just one player from their 2023 group, and replaced the departing Armon Watts with free agent signing Dean Lowry. But they do have a future need, as 35-year-old captain Cam Heyward is entering the final year of his contract and Lowry and Larry Ogunjobi will both be turning 30 this season.

In addition to Lee, the Steelers have hosted Florida State’s Braden Fiske, Northern Iowa’s Khristian Boyd and LSU’s Maason Smith on pre-draft visits. They also sent defensive line coach Karl Dunbar to LSU to scout Smith, Mekhi Wingo and Jordan Jefferson and head coach Mike Tomlin was at the pro days for Michigan’s Kris Jenkins, Clemson’s Duke Orhorhoro and Tyler Davis and Alabama’s Justin Eboigbe.

At the 2024 NFL Combine, the Steelers had formal interviews with Byron Murphy of Texas, McKinnley Jackson of Texas A&M and Orhorhoro.

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