Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin, and General Manager Kevin Colbert are putting in the miles this week. They've also whipped out the business credit card for some dinners. We will get to that in a minute. But today the Steelers will be attending the Cincinnati Pro Day to scout quarterback Desmond Ridder. We know that because Tomlin was spotted at a swanky steak house in Cincinnati last night with Ridder.
Tomlin and Colbert started their week at the Pitt Pro Day watching Kenny Pickett workout. That was obviously the easy one of the week as they didn't have to travel anywhere. Colbert was honored by Pitt for his years of service in the industry as he gets ready to step down as general manager.
Steelers GM Kevin Colbert was honored by @Pitt_FB and @CoachDuzzPittFB during their Pro Day today. Narduzzi thanked Colbert for all he had done through the years for the program. pic.twitter.com/mlb8iDwlNO
— Teresa Varley (@Teresa_Varley) March 21, 2022
Now from there is when things got busy. That night, Tomlin and crew headed to Virginia to have dinner with Malik Willis. Willis wowed the Steelers brass along with everyone that attended with his cannon for an arm. (See the videos here)
From Virginia, they headed to Mississippi on Tuesday night for dinner with Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral.
Mike Tomlin and Matt Corral vibing here at Mississippi pro day 👀 pic.twitter.com/tuBdPwuuU0
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) March 23, 2022
Corral was hurt during Mississippi's Bowl Game, but showed off his healthy ankle to potential teams. Corral completed 67.9% of his passes for 3,349 yards and 20 touchdowns against five interceptions last season as a junior. He was a finalist for both the Manning Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
From Mississippi Wednesday afternoon, to Cincinnati by dinner time for Ridder. A photo of Tomlin and Ridder circulated on Twitter on Wednesday night, but has now since been deleted. That's 4 quarterbacks in 4 days for Tomlin. Along with three dinners with three of those quarterbacks. The Steelers aren't interested in smoke screens, and they're certainly not going to fly around the country if they're not interested in these quarterbacks.
Pro Football Focus had this to say about Ridder in a recent mock draft:
Ridder has some size and athleticism to him and rarely put the ball in harm’s way this season, ending with a 2.0% turnover-worthy play rate. This may seem like a reach to some, but quarterbacks always get pushed up the draft board, and few teams are as desperate for a fix as Denver.
It's likely Ridder would be an option in the second round for the Steelers and not the first. But it's always a guessing game with quarterbacks. We've seen teams trade way up to get their guy, if they think he's their guy.
Stay tuned for more coverage of Ridder's Pro Day as the day goes on.
