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Today's draft visitors for @Steelers: Brock Vereen, a safety from Minnesota; Bruce Ellington, a WR from South Carolina
— Bob Labriola (@BobLabriola) April 4, 2014
The Steelers' open house event for potential team draft picks continued Friday, as Minnesota safety Brock Vereen and South Carolina wide receiver Bruce Ellington visited with the team at the South Side facility.
Vereen, a Combine Hero after his outstanding performance there in February (25 reps of 225 pounds, 4.47 40 with a 119-inch broad jump). He measured in at 6-foot-0, 199 pounds after earning All Big 10 honors his senior year as a cornerback and a safety for the Golden Gophers.
Vereen is one of the uncovered gems of this draft. Largely hidden in the enormous shadow of Ra'Shede Hageman in Minnesota, Vereen was the Gophers' most consistent and most versatile defender. For as good an athlete as he is, his intelligence is what really sets him apart. He doesn't have the freakish kind of ability most hybrid defensive backs will if they're taken in the first round, but he's a very good player. The Steelers would be lucky to have a chance to draft him in the third round.
Similarly, Ellington is somewhat off the grid himself. A three-year player on South Carolina's football and basketball teams, he runs excellent routes for his level of experience, and has good long speed. Size is the main deterrent with him (5-foot-9) but if he's able to play high level basketball at 5-foot-9, it's hard to see how he's not used to playing bigger than his height.
He's a quick, shifty, scramble-drill kind of receiver and could find a spot on this roster as a situational guy.