The NFL Draft wrapped up on Saturday and the Steelers yesterday announced a crop of free agent signings, including a quarterback and center who were both four-year college starters.
In the draft, the Steelers selected six players:
- Offensive tackle Broderick Jones of Georgia in the first round.
- Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. of Penn State in the second round.
- Defensive lineman Keeanu Benton of Wisconsin, also in the second round.
- Tight end Darnell Washington of Georgia in the third round.
- Outside linebacker Nick Herbig of Wisconsin in the fourth round.
- Cornerback Corey Trice Jr. of Purdue in the seventh round.
- Offensive lineman Spencer Anderson of Maryland, also in the seventh round.
The undrafted rookie free agent class for the Steelers includes:
- Quarterback Tanner Morgan of the University of Minnesota.
- Center Trevor Downing of Iowa State.
- Outside linebacker David Perales of Fresno State.
- Kicker B.T. Potter of Clemson.
- Defensive end James Nyamwaya of Merrimack College.
- Wide receiver/kick returner Jordan Byrd of San Diego State.
- Fullback Monte “The Mullet” Pottebaum, a converted linebacker from Iowa.
Coach Mike Tomlin says the evaluation of the draft class will take a while.
With two picks from Georgia and two from Wisconsin, the Steelers grabbed players from established programs they are very comfortable with. Tomlin says a lot of teams are “fishing in that pond” with Georgia, and when it comes to Wisconsin, the drafting of Nick Herbig, the brother of Steelers offensive lineman Nate Herbig, made a lot of sense.
General manager Omar Khan said there were offers for the Steelers to trade the first pick in the second round, but they decided their best move was to keep the pick and grab the cornerback they wanted.
With no draft picks in the fifth or sixth rounds, Khan still found ways to keep busy, including making a free agent acquisition of veteran defensive back Chandon Sullivan, who has played for three teams, the Eagles, Packers, and Vikings, over six NFL seasons. The team has not announced the signing, but Sullivan’s agents, Katz Brothers Sports, did.
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