Why are the Pittsburgh Steelers ignoring corners on the pro-day circuit?  This seems to be the big question of draft season so far.  The team certainly could use a young, dynamic corner in the upcoming draft.  The current starters as we stand today are a 33 year old Patrick Peterson, and journeyman Levi Wallace.  Not  exactly a duo that exudes confidence.  So why have Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin skipped the pro-days of every top corner?  History tells us those two have to attend the pro day of the team’s first round pick..  If this holds true in 2023, we can essentially eliminate Christian Gonzales, Devon Witherspoon, Joey Porter jr, Cam Smith, and Deonte Banks.

Some will argue that the Steelers are already very familiar with Joey Porter jr.   There’s the obvious connection with Tomlin and Joey Porter Sr.  If there were ever to be an exception to the rule here, JPJ would probably be it.  Another fact to point out is that Tomlin had to be at the owners meetings as he is on the competition committee.  Those took place during the Penn. St. and Maryland pro days.

Another theory floating around is that the Steelers are being coy with who they may take at 17.  Actively avoiding corners pro days to somehow cover their tracks.  This one doesn’t seem to make much sense since this is a franchise who almost never cares what the rest of the league thinks or does when it comes to the draft.

We may have to come to terms with the very real possibilities this team does not plan to take a corner in round one.  They have other needs like offense line, defensive line, and safety.  You could make the argument that these positions are more pressing needs.  Here’s what a draft might look like without a corner in round one: Steelers mock draft 4.0: The pro-day version  Keep in mind this is the deepest draft in terms of quality corners in some time.  The plan could easily be to grab one later in the draft, while strengthening up another position at 17.

Pittsburgh could of course buck their trend, and select a corner in round one.  This is a new regime, with new ideas on how to handle the draft.  It’s hard to imagine going against over a decade’s worth of team philosophy.  The Steelers ignoring corners is still a strong indicator they will go elsewhere in round one.  We have less than a month to get our answer.  Until we see otherwise, cross corner off your list in the first round.