According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, the Steelers are hosting four more draft prospects for visits on Thursday.
Steelers hosting top cornerback prospect Christian Gonzalez (Oregon) among their pre-draft visitors today.
Others include G Steve Avila (TCU), CB Darius Rush (South Carolina), DE Keion White (Georgia Tech)
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) April 6, 2023
CB Christian Gonzalez is the biggest name on this list of visits. He is considered one of, if not the best CBs in the upcoming draft.
Gonzalez played his first two years in college at Colorado before ultimately transferring to Oregon for the 2022 season. He would only play one year in Oregon, but this is where he made a name for himself.
He finished the 2022 season with 50 total tackles (35 solos), one tackle for loss, seven passes defended, and 4 INTs.
The possibility of Gonzalez falling to #17 is slim, but if he somehow were to fall that far, it’d be hard to pass on someone like him.
Christian Gonzalez is a projected top-15 pick.
OG Steve Avila is another interesting visit for the Steelers. A day after, they brought in OG O’Cyrus Torrence for a visit despite Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig being signed.
But Avila brings a ton of versatility as an offensive lineman, something the Steelers adore.
Steve Avila redshirted his first year at TCU in 2018. He played in 11 games in 2019, mostly on special teams. During the 2020 season, he started 7 games at C before moving to RT for his last 2 starts.
For the 2021 season, he moved back to C, where he started 11 games while also playing snaps at RG. In his last year at TCU in 2022, he moved over to LG and started 15 games, playing 1,020 snaps, only giving up two hits and nine hurries on 540 pass-blocking snaps.
Avila showed wherever you put him, he dominates, mainly as a pass-blocker. If the Steelers are looking to add another piece to the IOL, I think Avila is someone they’d love to have.
Steve Avila is a projected 2nd round pick.
CB Darius Rush is the second cornerback the Steelers brought in on Thursday. He would bring special teams’ ability and upside at CB.
Rush began his career at South Carolina as a WR. He redshirted his first year in 2018 due to an injury. He mostly played special teams in 2019, where he switched from WR to CB. He continued playing on special teams in 2020.
He became a starter for the Gamecocks for the 2021 season, where he finished the season playing in 13 games, gathering 26 total tackles (24 solos), three tackles for loss, one sack, eight passes defended, and one INT.
In his final season in 2022, he played in 10 games (9 starts) and had 38 total tackles (28 solos), two tackles for loss, one FF, seven passed defended, and two INTs.
Rush will be a work in progress, but he brings a lot of upsides. Bringing him in as depth and a special teamer could help the CB room for the Steelers.
Darius Rush is a projected 3rd-4th round pick.
DE Keion White is a freak athlete in a stacked EDGE class for the NFL Draft. He has had an interesting journey in his college career.
He started at Old Dominion as a TE in 2018, where he played in 6 games, catching 11 passes for 124 yards and catching a two-point conversation.
He switched from TE to DE for the 2019 season, where he had a productive year as he finished with 62 total tackles (30 solos), 19 tackles for loss (ties school record), 1 FF, 1 FR, 3.5 sacks, 1 pass defended, and 1 INT in 12 starts.
Due to Covid-19 concerns, Old Dominion did not play during the 2020 season. Because of this, White opted out of his redshirt junior season and chose to enter the NCAA transfer portal where he went to Georgia Tech.
He missed the first eight games of the 2021 season due to injury. He played in the last four games, recording only four total tackles (2 solos) and 0.5 tackles for loss.
White returned to Georgia Tech for the 2022 season after using the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In his final season, he ended the year with 54 total tackles (29 solos), 14 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, and one pass defended in 12 starts.
Is it likely for the Steelers to draft a DE? Maybe not. Maybe so. White is still developing into a true DE, but he’s a fascinating prospect with his talent and athleticism.
Keion White is a projected 2nd-3rd round pick.
Let us know what you think about these pre-draft visits in the comments, and stay tuned for more pre-draft visit news!