The latest Pro Day had the Steelers taking a close look at Michigan

The 2021 NFL Draft is just weeks away, and the Pro Day circuit is in full throttle as teams utilize their own private workouts in lieu of the NFL Scouting Combine which was canceled this year due to COVID-19.

Friday saw a great list of Pro Days, and the Pittsburgh Steelers were spread throughout the country looking at some potential prospects. Look at the Pro Days which took place yesterday:

• Boston College
• BYU
• Michigan
• South Dakota State
• Virginia Tech

The Steelers’ brass, head coach Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert, were in attendance at Michigan’s workout.

While at the workout, a prospect who was getting a lot of attention was offensive tackle Jalen Mayfield. Check out how Mayfield tested out at the Michigan Pro Day:

It wasn’t a great day for Mayfield, as you can see above, but Mayfield is considered a top tier prospect. For those who don’t know much about him, here is a breakdown of the Michigan lineman, via The Draft Network:

Jalen Mayfield projects as a high-quality starting offensive lineman at the NFL level. He’s got ample size and athleticism to play in space in pass protection and with just two years of starting experience under his belt, Mayfield is only going to continue to get better with more repetitions. Mayfield showed impressive improvement from Year 1 to Year 2 after facing a murderer’s row of pass rushes in his first season as a starter in 2019, having to block top-50 picks Yetur Gross-Matos and Chase Young while also having to handle other prominent pass rushers such as Anfernee Jennings, Jayson Oweh, Shaka Toney, Terrell Lewis, Khalid Kareem, Julian Okwara, and others. Mayfield endured a baptism by fire as a college starter but the physical tools and raw athleticism were undeniable. Complicating Mayfield’s 2021 projection is an even smaller sample size than the abbreviated 2020 Big Ten season—Mayfield played in just two games this season and will enter the pros with 15 starts under his belt at Michigan. But Mayfield was dominant and looked like a much more refined prospect in 2020; so much so that I’m pushing my chips into the table on this one. I think Mayfield is a high-level right tackle prospect who could be trained to switch sides and play on the left or, alternatively, be left to continue to grow on the right side. His athletic profile and build wouldn’t hinder him from a transition to guard either—in case his small sample size of strong play isn’t sustainable and he struggles at the NFL level on the outside. Given his physical skills and the multiple avenues to get on the field, I’m betting Mayfield ends up a big hit in the pros.

Ideal Role: Starting offensive tackle (could play either side, high-ceiling OG, as well).

Scheme Fit: Scheme transcendent talent.

The Steelers also had representatives at the Virginia Tech Pro Day:

When the Virginia Tech talents spoke to the media, several players said they had meetings, some virtual, with Tomlin and Colbert.

While the big names might have been at Michigan, at the UNC workout there was plenty of talk going on about the Steelers and specific prospects:

This is a lot to take in, and it is literally impossible to know who the Steelers have met with leading up to the draft. With Tomlin and Colbert being in Michigan, they were still able to virtually meet with other prospects. The presence of Tomlin and Colbert says a lot, but it doesn’t mean a location they didn’t visit won’t have any players drafted.

Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black and gold as they prepare for the rest of NFL Free Agency and the 2021 NFL Draft.