Steelers press on with pre-draft visits by hosting Toledo defensive lineman

I’m sure for those in the Pittsburgh Steelers organization, today is a very solemn day. On the day the public will say goodbye to team chairman Dan Rooney, the business side of the Steelers has to press on.

The team hosted just one player on Monday, and it was a defensive lineman from Toledo.

Hester, who played his college football in Toledo, isn’t a big name prospect, but the Steelers have done their best work with players like Hester. No one really knew of Javon Hargrave, due to him playing in a small school, but the 3rd round pick did more than acclimate himself to the NFL game as a rookie.

Hester, who is expected to be a mid-to-late round draft pick, has some work to do. Take a look at his NFL Draft Profile strengths and weaknesses.

STRENGTHS

Has decent power at the point of attack. Fairly athletic. Shows an ability to shed quickly to make tackles. Good reactive quickness allows for sudden shifts to make tackles against running backs trying to dart through gaps nearby. Highly instinctive. Keys on his man pulling and will work around the down-block coming his way to scrape and follow the play. Initial quickness laterally is solid. Effective arm over frees him from a block on his edge. Has very active hands as a rusher. Swipes and chops consistently at blocker's punch to try and keep himself clean. Able to maneuver around pass blocks if he gets an early advantage.

WEAKNESSES

Plays too straight-legged. Base is often way too narrow in his operation. Plays with inconsistent pad level. Shows issues with contact balance when he's playing too tall. Inconsistent get-off into the neutral zone. Will drop head into his initial contact and lose sight of the ball at times. Motor will fizzle out the longer a rep lasts. Pursuit effort can run hot and cold. Effort rusher who may not have the skill level to play on pass downs.