INDIANAPOLIS — The Steelers draft plans are not fully in focus just yet, but they have a clear want to address the cornerback position in the upcoming draft. In Indianapolis at the 2023 NFL Combine, the team met with almost all of the top cornerbacks, signing a clear interest in wanting to address the position.
For the notes of who they met with, it included Joey Porter Jr., Emmanuel Forbes, Tae Banks, Jaylon Jones, Clark Phillips, Julius Brents, Cam Smith, Kelee Ringo, Brian Branch, and Eli Ricks were all included in that group. While they did not confirm it, you can bet that Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez had at least an informal meeting with the group.
So, the Steelers draft plans are coming into focus more. They hope they can get a deal done with Cam Sutton, and those negotiations have already started to take place according to general manager Omar Khan.
“We think very highly of Cam,” Khan said on Tuesday. “Conversations have commenced. We’ll see where it goes. Just like all of our free agents, everything is on the table.”
Many of the top cornerbacks spoke highly of Mike Tomlin and his staff. Christian Gonzalez waxed poetic about his love and admiration for Mike Tomlin. With the team in the cornerback market heavily and the actual depth of the class, the Steelers could very well land one of the top cornerbacks.
If there is a position to think about coming out of the NFL Combine interviews, it is hard to argue against cornerback being the frontrunner of that group. The true talent is there, and more importantly, the need for the Steelers is as well. There could very well be a scenario where best player available matches up beautifully with the raw need to give Pittsburgh a real option at cornerback. The formal meetings are only a window into that.