Steelers drawn to Terrapins on Day 3 of NFL Draft
The Steelers zoned in on a Big Ten team on the third day of the NFL Draft.
Pittsburgh selected two players from Maryland, choosing running back Anthony McFarland with their first of two picks in the fourth round and 124th overall, and safety Antoine Brooks Jr. in the sixth round with the 198th overall choice.
In between the pair of Terrapins, the Steelers drafted Louisiana-Lafayette guard Kevin Dotson with their second fourth-round pick and 135th overall.
Pittsburgh capped its draft with Nebraska defensive end Carlos Davis in the seventh round with the 232nd overall pick.
McFarland is a 5-foot-8, 208-pound redshirt sophomore who ran 4.44 in the 40-yard dash. He was named second team All-Big Ten in 2018 when he rushed for 1,034 yards but started only seven off 11 games last year due to a high-ankle sprain and ran for 614 yards with 17 receptions.
Brooks, a 5-11, 220-pound senior, was honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2017 and second team his junior and senior seasons. He led Maryland in tackles for loss (9.5) in 2018 and tackles (87) last year.
Pittsburgh may have had an eye on its disappointing run game last year when it picked up Dotson, a 6-4, 310-pound redshirt senior. Dotson was considered one of the best run-blocking linemen in the draft.
Dotson gradually rose to prominence for the Ragin’ Cajuns. He was named to the Sun Belt Conference All-Newcomer Team as a redshirt freshman, was second-team all-conference as a sophomore and first team as a junior. In 2019 he not only repeated as first team all-conference but was also named a first team Associated Press All-American.
Davis, a 6-2, 313-pound fifth-year senior, was a key component on the Cornhuskers defensive front the last four years, starting a combined 45 games and also was on Nebraska’s track & field team where he earned All-American honors in the discus.
Following the draft the Steelers added 10 undrafted free agents. They were Trajan Bandy, cornerback, Miami; Josiah Coatney, defensive end, Mississippi; John Houston, linebacker, Southern California; Leo Lewis, linebacker, Mississippi State; James Lockhart, linebacker, Baylor; Christian Montano, guard, Tulane; Spencer Nigh, fullback, Auburn; James Pierre, defensive back, Florida Atlantic; Calvin Taylor, defensive tackle, Kentucky; and Corliss Waitman, punter, South Alabama.
Five Nittany Lions chosen
Penn State had five players taken in the draft overall, starting with junior edge rusher Yetur Gross-Matos going to the Carolina Panthers and redshirt sophomore wide receiver K.J. Hamler going to the Denver Broncos, both in the second round.
Nittany Lions cornerback John Reid, a fifth-year senior, went to the Houston Texas in the fourth round, while fifth-year senior linebacker Cameron Brown and senior defensive tackle Rob Windsor both went in the sixth round to the New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts, respectively.
West Virginia saw two of its players taken off the board with back-to-back picks in the fifth round. Junior safety Kenny Robinson was taken by Carolina with the sixth pick of the round and the San Francisco 49ers selected fifth-year senior tackle Colton Mckivitz immediately after, trading away running back Matt Breida to the Miami Dolphins for that pick.
Pitt fifth-year senior cornerback Dane Jackson was taken in the seventh round by the Buffalo Bills, and former Panther quarterback Ben DiNucci, who transferred to James Madison, was taken by the Dallas Cowboys, also in the seventh round.