The Pittsburgh Steelers welcomed one of the top receiver prospects, a well-traveled defensive tackle and a Western Pennsylvania linebacker for visits Tuesday in advance of the upcoming NFL Draft.
Washington’s Denzel Boston, a potential first-round pick, was joined by Florida State defensive lineman Darrell Jackson and Louisiana-Lafayette linebacker Jaden Dugger, a Penn Hills graduate. The draft is April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.
Dugger made a team-high 125 tackles last season for the Ragin’ Cajuns. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound linebacker played the past two seasons for Louisiana-Lafayette after starting his college career as a safety at Georgetown for two years.
His stats last season included 64 solo tackles, 13 tackles for loss and four sacks.
The 6-4, 212-pound Boston was linked to the Steelers in many early mock drafts at pick 21. The 22-year-old redshirt junior had 125 catches for 1,715 yards and 20 touchdowns over his final two seasons at Washington. He was named third-team All-Big Ten last year.
ESPN draft analyst Field Yates ranked Boston as the fifth-best receiver in this year’s class and the 27th best prospect overall.
The 6-5½, 315-pound Jackson started all 24 games in his two seasons at Florida State. The defensive tackle played his freshman season at Maryland and started 12 times at Miami (Fla.) as a sophomore.
Combined, Jackson played 50 career games. At Florida State, he made 77 tackles over two seasons, including seven tackles for loss and 4½ sacks. He earned All-ACC honorable mention both years.