The Pittsburgh Steelers are a cornerstone franchise of the NFL. They are a beacon that shines out to other NFL franchises on how they should operate and treat their employees. With very few notable exceptions, the Steelers are opaque in the front office and the way players are treated by the coaching staff is kept private. The Steelers have a mold that they seek to fill, and sometimes they miss, but the mold stays the same.
| Photo Credit: Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers former general manager, Kevin Colbert.
Steelers' Kevin Colbert's Record At Finding Hidden Gems In NFL Draft Will Be Tough To Match
Kevin Colbert developed a reputation for identifying and cultivating wide receiver talent in Pittsburgh. He has notable success stories like Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, and Diontae Johnson, and his final pick at receiver on day 2 of the draft, George Pickens may be his best of all. The Steelers surprisingly have a hole at wide receiver heading into the 2023 Draft and if Omar Khan follows in Colbert’s footsteps, they will fill that hole on the second day of the upcoming draft.
College football has recruiting hotbeds throughout the country. California, Florida, and Texas feed college football with a seemingly endless supply of recruits that power big-time college programs in the SEC and Big 10. The Steelers have struck gold with receivers from smaller conferences in the past and chances are Pittsburgh and Khan may look to beat the bushes with this class of wide receivers because they have more pressing needs early in the draft.
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Andrei Iosivas (9) leaps for catch.
Andrei Iosivas is about as far off the beaten path for an NFL prospect as you can get. He is from Honolulu, HI, and spent his collegiate career playing for the Tigers. Not the LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers, or even the Clemson Tigers. Iosivas played in the Ivy League for the Princeton Tigers football team. The Ivy League has produced NFL players in the past, so it isn’t completely unheard of for a quarterback or a lineman to come from the conference but NFL-caliber wide receivers from Princeton don’t come along every day.
Princeton plays in the FCS and Iosivas is a track star that got very good at football during his time in college. He was an All-American in the 60-yard dash and has tantalizing measurables. He is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. He has a 39-inch vertical leap and while just slightly shorter he has a lot of the measurables that made Christian Watson an appealing prospect last season. Before the NFL Combine, he was going in the second round of many mock drafts.
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Jordan Addison makes a leaping catch over a defender at practice during his freshman season at the University of Pittsburgh in 2020
He ran a little slower than expected for a track star, but at his height, 4.43 seconds is not a huge cause for concern, considering his speed in the 60-yard dash at track meets. Iosivas ran six-tenths of a second faster than former Pitt Panther Jordan Addison in the 40-yard dash and was significantly better in nearly every measurable. Iosivas is dangerous in the open field and is physical with an impressive catch radius and superior hands.
The Princeton star’s less-than-expected times have caused him to fall out of favor in some draft circles and out of the top 10 on Pro Football Focus's top 10 wide receiver lists. Iosivas did not play against top competition in the FCS, but neither did Watson who came on throughout the season for the Green Bay Packers after he healed from nagging injuries.
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Steelers wide receivers Diontae Johnson and George Pickens will be tasked to produce as the big dogs in the offense next year.
Iosivas is not a finished product and will need to work on his route running and his blocking, he will have the perfect mentors in Diontae Johnson and George Pickens. Iosivas has the raw skills that can be developed with coaching to make him the perfect compliment to Pickens on the other side of the ball as another big receiver with excellent hands downfield. Kenny Pickett should be ecstatic if they tap Iosivas as his third wide receiver.
The last two decades have established the Steelers as the preeminent authorities on receivers and they are not afraid to go hunting to find a gem that others have overlooked. At a school like Princeton, it is hard to say anyone is overlooked, but at pick 80, if he is available he should gleam like a diamond for the dynamic duo of Khan and Andy Weidl.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Should the Steelers be patient and get another steal on Day 2? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
