New Pittsburgh Steelers secondary coach Gerald Alexander hit the pro day circuit ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft on Tuesday, and he did so focusing his attention on a player that was not obviously on the Steelers' radar.
Alexander was at the South Carolina pro day on Tuesday, where he was spotting working with Gamecocks safety Nick Emmanwori .
Emmanwori's stock has been steadily rising after a great showing at the 2025 NFL Combine, and he's considered the second-best safety in this year's draft class, with an overall rank of No. 26 on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board.
That puts Emmanwori firmly into consideration for the Steelers, who have their first-round pick at No. 21 overall, especially in a trade-back scenario. The Steelers could be looking to move down the draft board this April to recoup the second-round pick they sent to the Seattle Seahawks for DK Metcalf last week.
But the Steelers do not have an obvious need at safety. Starters Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott are slated to return for 2025, with Fitzpatrick under contract through 2026. The Steelers also signed former Cleveland Browns starter Juan Thornhill to be their No. 3 safety earlier this week. Special teamer Miles Killebrew and 2024 rookie Ryan Watts are both also expected to be back in 2025.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Emmanwori has the build of an in-the-box safety. (Elliott is 6-foot-1, 209 pounds). But he ran unlike any other safety ever at the combine. Emmanwori posted a 4.38-second 40-yard dash, a 43-inch vertical and an 11-foot-6 broad jump. He did not record a short shuttle or three-cone drill, but on the results provided, he has a 10.0 Relative Athletic Score — the best-tested safety in the history of the metric.
It's possible the Steelers could see Emmanwori as a slot cornerback thanks to that speed. He has played 564 snaps in the slot over the last four years, per Pro Football Focus. But the vast majority of his playing time has been as a box safety, something the Steelers won't need this year with Elliott back, and coming off what might have been his best season as a professional.
The Steelers also sent defensive coordinator Teryl Austin to the Clemson pro day last week, where he got a look at later-round safety R.J. Mickens, and to Georgia to see Malaki Starks . Starks is another first-round option. Tomlin will be at Alabama on Wednesday for late-round safety Malachi Moore .
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