Steelers Are Having Another Solid Campaign With The
After this year’s combine concludes, a number of NFL teams will undoubtedly be reevaluating their draft selections. Among those clubs may be the Pittsburgh Steelers.
There were several athletes with an opportunity to win over Pittsburgh’s executive staff with a strong showing since the Steelers have a lot of options for their first-round choice in the 2024 draft.
It appears that one player’s strong showing may have been sufficient to raise his draft value.
On March 4, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com published his most current mock draft in which Pittsburgh was selected by one of the standouts from the combine.
Zierlein projected that Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins would be selected by the Steelers with the 20th choice in the draft.
Wiggins’ performance at the NFL Combine
For Wiggins, the NFL Combine was a bit of a mixed bag.
His dimensions did have some advantages. Wiggins has decent length for an NFL cornerback, standing slightly higher than 6’1′′ and with a wingspan of little more than 74 inches.
Unfortunately, he also weighed in at 173 pounds. According to The 33rd Team, that would make Wiggins the smallest corner in the NFL. That lack of size will create concerns about his ability to get physical with receivers at the line of scrimmage and about potential difficulty staying healthy.
Then Wiggins got the chance to show off his athleticism and he did not disappoint.
The All-ACC corner ran the 40-yard dash in 4.28 seconds. That was the fastest time among cornerbacks in this year’s draft class and was the second best time in the class at all positions, only finishing behind Xavier Worthy’s record-breaking effort.
Wiggins suffered a hip flexor injury during the run, but it’s not an injury that teams are going to be worried about heading into the draft.
The speed that Wiggins showed off at the combine should have the Steelers interested in making him their CB2.
Steelers’ Requirement for Quickness
The importance of the Steelers adding a starting cornerback this offseason has already been discussed extensively.
Despite Joey Porter Jr.’s impressive rookie year, the club still lacks a cornerback.
However, just bringing in a talented corner might not be enough for the Steelers. Their need might be a bit more specific than that.
The Steelers lack speed in their secondary.
They only have two defensive backs that ran the 40 in less than 4.5 seconds and they’re both over 30 years old now.
That lack of speed contributed to their difficulties preventing opposing receivers from making big gains. They allowed opposing receivers to gain 12 yards per catch, which put them among the league’s worst teams in that category.
Although Wiggins’ stature may raise some concerns—particularly for a club like the Steelers that is known for its physicality—his speed would provide the defense with something it did not have in 2023.
A quick corner to line up beside Porter Jr. may be the solution they’ve been seeking for, especially with their strong pass rush options and a defense that was already permitting one of the lowest completion percentages in the league in 2023.
It wouldn’t be shocking to see the Steelers choose Wiggins at the end of April, though he has stiff competition at his position and they may use the selection to address other concerns.
