7 players mentioned by Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan in Monday’s press conference

After three months of silence except for a brief Q&A ahead of the league meetings almost a month ago, Steelers fans were finally able to hear from head coach Mike Tomlin ahead of the 2023 NFL draft. Alongside Tomlin was Steelers’ general manager Omar Khan who both gave opening remarks before taking questions. Based on the questions, the “Players Mentioned” article is able to make a brief return! Remember these are players mentioned in response to specific questions during the Q&A period. Whether it was Mike Tomlin or Omar Khan speaking will be noted.

Allen Robinson, Patrick Peterson, & Cam Heyward

During the opening remarks, General manager Omar Khan discussed the deal to acquire Allen Robinson and talked about the importance of adding a veteran player. Khan was asked about the importance of mentorship when it comes to adding players such as Robinson and Patrick Peterson. In his response, Khan also mentioned the leadership of Cam Heyward.

Khan: “It’s extremely important. Especially when you’re getting to the Draft, you’re looking at guys saying, “Hey, we don’t necessarily need this guy to come in and plug-and-play right away.” He can learn from a guy like Pat P[eterson]or Allen Robinson. We have quality veterans, Cam Heyward. Lot of those guys. A great situation to be in.”

In a later question, Coach Tomlin was asked if he could see Allen Robinson being an inside guy.

Tomlin: “He’s had experience as an inside guy. He has physicality in his game. He can drop his weight for a big. He is an example of our general free agent interest. It goes all the way back to when he was at Penn State. Kevin Colbert and I spent a great deal of time with him and his family through his draft process. He was a Diaper Dandy. A 20-year-old when he came into the Draft. We held him in high regard. We liked his football character, we liked his talents, we liked his upside. We followed him throughout his NFL journey. The interest still remains. Those are generally the stories, that’s the framing of the people that we generally do free agent business with.”

DeMarvin Leal

One player for the Steelers he was drafted in 2022 who could possibly be used at more than one position is DeMarvin Leal. Coach Tomlin was asked what he envisions the role for Leal to be heading into 2023 and if it impacts the draft.

Tomlin: “There’s a lot of variables that determine that. His level of readiness, his growth and development physically, mentally, how he processes the experiences of Year 1. I’m open and expect him to be on another level, like I do all guys. But I don’t know that I see it with great clarity as I sit here today. Still too many moving pieces. One of the major components of talent acquisition that remains to be done throughout this offseason, be it the Draft or free agency, things of that nature. But make no mistake, he showed some things, particularly over the latter part of last year. It’s reasonable to expect him to build upon that. So, I’m open to it. But no definitive structure to it as we sit here today.”

Elandon Roberts

The Steelers have added several players they showed interest in during past drafts. After making his comments about Allen Robinson playing on the inside, Coach Tomlin went on to talk about his past relationship with Elandon Roberts.

Tomlin: “The same thing could be said for E[landon] Roberts. I remember being down at Houston when we were at his Pro Day. Kevin and I stood in the parking lot and talked to him and his parents for maybe 45 minutes after his Pro Day was over. That’s how we play free agency. We build our team primarily through the Draft because we do a great deal of research and work regarding these guys in draft prep. So, our professional interest is usually a continuation of that.”

Anthony Miller & Calvin Austin III

Many people in Steelers’ Nation are still wondering about the availability of Anthony MIller and Calvin Austin III after both receivers missed all of the 2022 season. Coach Tomlin was asked about how Miller and Austin were coming along health-wise.

Tomlin: “No updates regarding the health of guys. I don’t have a detailed one, so I’m not going to mislead you with false information. We’ve been focused on talent acquisition. The guys have been going through the conditioning component of it. Haven’t had a significant update in that regard. We get on the other side of the Draft, start teeing this group up for on-field work, it probably gets to be more of a relevant discussion at that time.”

For a full recap of Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan’s press conference, check out our podcast recap below:

The entire press conference can be seen here: