Steelers begin official pre-draft visits by hosting Penn State defensive lineman

The 2018 NFL Draft is just weeks away, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have started to retreat back to their headquarters. The scouting department has been hard at work on the scouting trail hitting up as many NCAA Pro Day events as they can, and now is the time the team comes back to Pittsburgh and brings in specific prospects to get more of a one-on-one look at what they bring to the team.

Teams can have around 30 visitors, and don’t have to use them all, but the Steelers are usually a team who doesn’t leave visits on the table.

The team got things started today when they hosted Penn State defensive lineman Curtis Cothran.

This from Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Cothran started his career in Happy Valley as a defensive end, but head coach James Franklin asked him to gain weight and move to defensive tackle. After gaining 60-pounds, Cothran started two seasons for Penn State.

Cothran is not considered a player who is likely to be drafted, but if he is he would be a late Day 3 draft pick, or an Undrafted Free Agent (UDFA).

Here is a good description of Cothran from Lance Zeirlein of NFL.com:

Defensive tackle with decent athleticism but a troubling lack of play strength. Cothran is a try hard interior defender who will have to live in the weight room and also become a much better hand fighter to have a shot in the pros. He does have the foot quickness to open some doors with penetration, but he’s too easily redirected to finish with high impact production.

It should be noted the Steelers spent time with Cothran at the Penn State Pro Day, something we covered which you can read HERE.

Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes on the team’s pre-draft visits and potential interest heading into the draft.