The Notre Dame Fighting Irish in this century have rarely found their way to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL Draft. We also discuss about Kevin Austin Jr. In 2014, the Steelers drafted Stephon Tuitt, who when healthy, is an above average defensive end starter. In 2020, they drafted Chase Claypool who has divided Steeler Nation, but I believe strongly is going to have a breakout season. Click here to read my previous thoughts on young Mr. Claypool.
With that said, the Steelers are in need of a wide receiver in the upcoming draft who will probably be called onto step in as the WR3 for the team (the role that Anthony Miller most likely currently occupies on the depth chart).
If the Steelers use their first-round pick on a quarterback or a defensive stud lineman/cornerback/safety, they have demonstrated their ability to find talent in the later rounds under Kevin Colbert at the wide receiver position. On Friday, March 25th, Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin attended the Notre Dame Pro Day. Notre Dame has everyone’s consensus top safety with Kyle Hamilton who Pittsburgh has little chance at getting, and a couple of intriguing defensive linemen in Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Kurt Hinish. Kyren Williams also managed to improve his NFL Combine 40-yard dash time by a tenth of a second and may be on their radar as a back to spell Najee Harris. Then there is wide receiver, Kevin Austin Jr.
The Black and Gold need a skilled WR3 at this point. Colbert has made quite the reputation by taking wideouts from round two to seven and turning them into All-Pros, Pro Bowlers, and solid pros. It is hard to say Kevin Austin Jr. is overlooked but, in this draft, he is rarely mentioned among the top wide receivers. He is 6 foot 2 inches, weighs 215 pounds, and at his Pro Day, he elected not to try to improve on his combine 40-yard dash of 4.43 seconds. In a normal year, that would be a very impressive time, but with the current crop of pass catchers, that is just middle of the pack. Austin is objectively fast, but it is not what scouts value in his arsenal.
It is his hips that scouts rave about, specifically his ability to use them to get in and out of breaks to create separation. He is by all accounts an above average route runner. His 3-cone time at the combine of 6.71 seconds ranked first among all wide receivers evaluated by a wide margin. He was only one of two receivers to run under 7 seconds and registered a 39-inch vertical. Austin has demonstrated above average physicality throughout his NCAA career and should be very difficult to press at the next level.
He had mixed results at Notre Dame, with injuries, notably a broken foot in 2020 and an unconfirmed suspension for the 2019 season for violating team rules. He returned to the field in 2021 and despite the Irish propensity not to maximize receiver talent, he put together a solid season and closed out his career with two six-catch 100-plus yard performances against Stanford, and Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Kevin Austin Jr. should be available in the fourth and fifth rounds of the upcoming NFL Draft according to several draft experts, but depending on individual workouts, he could move up to the late third round if he continues to rise. Maybe he will move up as high as say pick No. 84 and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The third round has been kind to the Steelers over the last 15 years producing Diontae Johnson, Mike Wallace, and Emmanuel Sanders. If Pittsburgh takes a chance on a quarterback early instead of one of the shiny wideout toys who will be available at pick No. 20, they may just hit gold in third round with Austin. He certainly has the helmet for it.
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