Steelers Now
MOBILE, Ala. — As practice started on the second day of work ahead of the 2025 Senior Bowl on Wednesday, a horn sounded and players shuffled off to their various position groups. The defensive line of the first-practicing National Team marched to the north end zone of Hancock-Whitney Stadium on the campus of South Alabama. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin followed.
Tomlin spent his second straight day with a heavy focus on the defensive line position. But the Steelers definitely have another spot they’re paying a lot of attention to.
Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith spent most of his day on Wednesday watching the group of wide receivers, and there are some intriguing fits for his offense among the group at the Senior Bowl at Mobile.
There isn’t a first-round wide receiver in this field. If that’s in the cards for the Steelers, it’ll likely be Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka or Texas’ Matthew Golden. Both players declined to participate after long runs in the College Football Playoff.
That could still happen, but if you go by the level of attention paid by the Steelers brass to prospects this week, it could very well be defensive tackle in the first round and wide receiver in the second.
There are several solid options among this group in Mobile.
Jayden Higgins — no relation to Tee — has the size at 6-foot-3 3/4 and 217 pounds. He also has the skills, as he’s been dominating Senior Bowl cornerbacks all week. Currently No. 76 on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board, Higgins could be a riser based on his productivity this week.
#Steelers OC Arthur Smith watching WR/DB 1v1s. Nice rep here by Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins. pic.twitter.com/oVgNYgjfQf
— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) January 29, 2025
Higgins is big and strong and while not a burner, he’s certainly fast enough. He doesn’t have elite change of direction ability, but is a very fluid route-runner that seems to understand how one step sets up the next. There is some boom-or-bust here, but it feels like less of a project than his consensus pick might suggest.
Jack Bech checked in at the Senior Bowl at 6-foot-1 1/4 and 212 pounds, another solidly built wide receiver. Bech plated mostly outside at TCU, and he’ll have to prove that he can stick there at the NFL level. He has the size and the strength to perhaps be able to overcome press man coverage. Or he could be someone’s big slot in a heartbeat. The Steelers haven’t had a player like that since trading away Chase Claypool in 2022, but Arthur Smith has used one before.
Smith used the 6-foot-4 Mack Hollins in the slot and in a ton of condensed splits with the Atlanta Falcons in 2023. The jobs in Smith’s offense that Hollins was doing in then were mostly filled by Van Jefferson and Ben Skowronek in 2024. Bech would represent...
