Steelers Draft Digest: Pittsburgh Meets With Rising CB, Surprising CB Mocked

The Steelers big a surprising cornerback in a mock draft and they meet with a rising cornerback at the NFLPA Bowl.

: Pitt running back Israel Abanikanda is heading to the NFL Combine after receiving his invite on Friday, the former Panther announced on his Instagram story. For any team looking for a player that could run out of the building with an impressive time in Indianapolis, Abanikanda could be one of the more impressive testers at the NFL Combine.

: After the Senior Bowl added Charlotte receiver Grant DuBose to their roster on Thursday, it was Purdue’s Charlie Jones who ended up opting out of the event to make room for DuBose. Jones is one of the multiple opt-outs revealed this week as the Senior Bowl added multiple new players.

: The Steelers met with Kentucky defensive back Keidron Smith at the NFLPA Bowl during the week. That is particularly interesting, as the 6-foot-2 Smith is not only standing out all week at the NFLPA Bowl, but he will be heading to the Senior Bowl next week as a result. He was a Second-Team All-SEC selection and racked up 269 tackles, 7 interceptions, 6 forced fumbles, and overall 25 pass breakups during his career.

: The Senior Bowl will not have a first-round quarterback there, and that is largely due to the fact that Will Levis declined his invite to the Senior Bowl. In addition, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett declined an invite, too, leaving the Senior Bowl in a bit of a scramble to find some quarterbacks. Louisville’s Malik Cunningham received his invite yesterday.

: Joe Broback of Pro Football Network conducted his new mock draft on Thursday, and to say the least, there was a surprising pick for the Steelers in this one. He has the Steelers drafting Missouri cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, who has been mocked to Pittsburgh, but never this early.

“He’ll need to add a little weight to his frame, but Emmanuel Forbes is a natural playmaker, whose talent makes him a first-round prospect,” Broback said. “Forbes has natural ball skills that stood out this year, and Mike Tomlin’s staff would love having that on their roster.”

Pittsburgh could use a cornerback, and in this mock draft, they passed up Jordan Addison, O’Cyrus Torrence, Kelee RIngo, Bryan Bresee, and others to draft Forbes.

: In an exercise to find the ‘next Brock Purdy’, CBS analyst Chris Trapasso went through all of the quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft to try to find that guy. Who did he land on with the most potential to fit that mold? Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener.

“This Fresno State quarterback is a gritty, deceptively athletic pocket passer who does decent work under duress, has an average arm and some ad-libbing flair. That sounds exactly like Purdy doesn’t it,” Trapasso wrote.

: While talking to the media at the Shrine Bowl, Boston College’s Zay Flowers believes he can clock a 40-yard dash in the low 4.3s at the NFL Combine. If that happens, Flowers could catapult himself into the first round as a result. His smooth route running and ability to win at all three levels have made Flowers a key player to watch all week.