First Call: Steelers may covet Jalen Carter with rumored trade in NFL Draft; ex-Pitt Panther sparkles in NBA playoffs
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On Monday, the Pittsburgh Steelers interviewed two big-name draft prospects and may be angling to trade up for another.
A former WPIAL athlete is shining in the NBA playoffs, while another is looking for an NFL home. And Robert Morris’ basketball team is making noise in the transfer portal.
All that in Tuesday’s “First Call.”
Jostling for Jalen
There have been reports about the Steelers trying to trade up to the No. 9 spot in the NFL Draft. According to Peter King of “Football Morning in America,” there is some smoke to that fire, and the goal is to select Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter.
“Best rumor of the week: Steelers trading up from 17 to nine if Carter’s there. There could not be a more perfect coach for Carter than Mike Tomlin,” King wrote Monday.
At 6-foot-3, 314 pounds, Carter would be an excellent protege to initially play behind veteran starters Cameron Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi, and maybe play between them in base 3-4 looks. During our “Draft Prep 101” podcasts, Steelers Nation Radio host Matt Williamson suggested that — in terms of pure tape and grade — Carter may be the only player he had graded higher than Texas running back Bijan Robinson.
For a while, Carter was slated to be the top prospect in the draft by many others as well, but his stock took a hit due to some off-field issues.
In January, Carter was charged with reckless driving and racing — both misdemeanors — in connection with a crash that killed Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy. Two other passengers were injured.
Via SI.com, “Though initially thought to be a single-car crash, police announced March 1 that they believed Carter and LeCroy were racing.” Carter pleaded no contest, received 12 months probation and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, plus perform 80 hours community service.
Rumors of the Steelers trying to trade up with the Chicago Bears at pick No. 9 have been a talking point since it was first reported by E.J. Snyder of “The Bootleg Football” podcast a week ago. Since then, a number of other outlets have echoed that report. Although the assumed target for the Steelers had been Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson Jr.
However, if Carter is still on the board, that might change everything.
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Big names
The Steelers took a look at two high profile draft candidates Monday.
Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones and Clemson defensive linemen Bryan Bresee were both in town for visits. Jones is 6-foot-5, 311 pounds, and Bresee is 6-5 and 298.
Jones was part of the All-Freshman team in 2021 and was All-SEC last year. Bresee played with the Tigers through his redshirt sophomore season. He was the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020, starting 10 of 12 games. That was cut to four games the next year because of a torn ACL. Last season, Bresee had 3.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss in 10 games.
Of Bresee, Williamson said, “The guy that most reminds me of Cam Heyward and that style of player is Clemson’s Bryan Bresee. … He’s extremely high character. A leader. A power player like Cam that they will even line up outside the tackle. They’ll line him up all over the defensive line. He does the dirty work.”
Meanwhile, Williamson described Jones and Johnson as the only two tackles he could see the Steelers taking at pick No. 17 — and they would be very fortunate if either one is still there by then.
Getting a look
Via ProFootballTalk.com, the Tennessee Titans worked out three linebackers Monday. Bethel Park’s Nick Kwiatkoski was one of them. He was joined by two ex-Arizona Cardinals, Tanner Vallejo and Ben Niemann.
But it was Niemann who was signed to a contract. Last year, the former Iowa Hawkeye played in all 17 games for Arizona (starting nine) and logged a career-high 70 tackles (38 solo).
The 29-year-old Kwiatkoski was an Atlanta Falcon last season. He saw action on 228 special teams snaps and made seven tackles.
The West Virginia University product has played 89 games with 34 career starts. He also played for the Raiders and Chicago Bears.
Johnson’s jam
Former Pitt Panther Cam Johnson is off to a great start in the NBA playoffs, even if his team isn’t.
Johnson’s Brooklyn Nets are down 2-0 in their first round best-of-seven series against the Philadelphia 76ers. That’s after Philly won Game 2 by a final score of 96-84.
That wasn’t Johnson’s fault though. The Moon native posted 28 points on 11 of 19 shooting. He also had this thunderous dunk over Philadelphia star 7-footer Joel Embiid.
CAM JOHNSON POSTER
HE'S TAKING OVER ON TNT (22 PTS) pic.twitter.com/iBK2YY2Wzt
— NBA (@NBA) April 18, 2023
Johnson, who eventually transferred to North Carolina, also had 18 points in Game 1 of the series. The schedule shifts to Brooklyn for Game 3 on Thursday.
Colonials calling
Robert Morris basketball landed an intriguing transfer from the SEC.
The Colonials have plucked LSU sophomore Justice Williams from the portal.
????????????????: LSU transfer Justice Williams has committed to Robert Morris
: Justice Williams/ IG pic.twitter.com/zZx6eOq8Qr
— The Portal Report (@ThePortalReport) April 17, 2023
The Philadelphia native appeared in 23 games for the Tigers this year. A 6-4, 175-pound guard, Williams started seven of those contests, averaging 3.3 points per game. He was a 33% shooter, 17% from beyond the arc.
RMU also signed 6-7 Western Michigan transfer Markeese Hastings on Thursday. The redshirt junior averaged 8.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 31 games last season.