The Pittsburgh Steelers had formal meetings with several players at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis . The Steelers met with a pair of Ohio State Buckeye defensive players — defensive tackle Kayden McDonald and defensive back Caleb Downs .
McDonald spoke highly of the Ohio State brotherhood, met formally with the Steelers and actually attended the regular season finale versus the Ravens, according to Derrick Bell of Steelers Now .
Downs is one of the top safeties in this years class. He's considered a potential top-10 selection, so he most likely will be out of reach for the Steelers unless Omar Khan and company trade up for the former Buckeye.
Safety could be a big need for the Steelers. The Steelers traded for Kyle Dugger shortly after DeShon Elliott 's season-ending knee injury last season. Elliott has two years left on his contract. It's also unclear if Jalen Ramsey will continue to want to play safety or if the Steelers will part ways with him to save cap space.
Cincinnati inside linebacker Jake Golday had a formal meeting with the Steelers at the combine this week, and as a Packers fan, said it was an honor to meet new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, according to Jack Sperry of Chat Sports.
Sperry also reports that Florida State defensive tackle Darrel Jackson Jr. had a formal meeting with the Steelers.
Below is a list of the players that the Steelers had a formal meeting with or at least met with.
Defensive Line
Ohio State/Kayden McDonald (formal)
Michigan/Rayshaun Benny (formal), via Travis May of A to Z Sports .
Darrell Jackson Jr./Florida State (formal), via Jack Sperry of Chat Sports.
Linebacker
Cincinnati/Jake Golday (formal), via Jack Sperry of Chat Sports .
Texas/Anthony Hill Jr., via Jack Sperry of Chat Sports . Unclear if formal or not.
Georgia/ C.J. Allen, via Nick Farabaugh of PennLive .
Edge
Alabama/ LT Overton , via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review . Unclear if formal or not.
Secondary
Caleb Downs /Ohio State (formal), via Nick Farabaugh of PennLive .
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Steelers 2026 NFL Combine Meeting Tracker
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