Steelers Talk to Two More Prospects – OL Loadholt and CB Burnett

A couple more college prospects are meeting with the Steelers as the countdown to the NFL Draft continues. The team met Wednesday with on the South Side with offensive tackle Phil Loadholt and cornerback/return specialist Joe Burnett.

Loadholt is a load to say the least, he’s 6-foot-8, 337 pounds. He was the starter at left tackle the last two seasons for Oklahoma, this after he played two seasons at junior college. Here’s a scouting report on Loadholt from WalterFootball.com:

Strengths: Mammoth frame and strength with a relatively low body fat considering his position … Extremely long wingspan … An absolutely powerful, tenacious run blocker … Finishes the play and buries his opponent … Very strong hands … Gets a push at the line of scrimmage … Has improved penalty rate since junior season … Good stamina and plays just as hard in the fourth quarter as he does in the first quarter.

Weaknesses: Guaranteed to struggle with speed at the next level … More of a waist bender and not a natural knee bender … Must improve technique to gain more leverage against more powerful defensive ends … Sluggish feet … Does not have the hips to recover when beat on the edge … Struggles with pass rushing double moves … Not versatile at all; will be relegated to right tackle … Not very much upside because he lacks the athletic ability to be a great pass protector … Not going to fit every scheme.

Summary: Loadholt has the potential to be one of the elite run blockers in the league at right tackle, but that is all you can expect out of him. Not many teams are going to have him high on their depth chart because he might not fit their scheme and he provides zero versatility. To be blunt, he is more big than talented.

Burnett, from UCF, is 5-10, 192-pounds, and is projected as a late pick, possibly as late as the 7th round.

He set the career record for interceptions (16) at the University of Central Florida and also excelled as a return man, putting up 14.5 yards per punt return last season and averaged 28.7 yards per kick return in 2008 and scored two touchdowns.

Burnett earned first-time All-Conference USA honors during his junior and senior seasons as a defensive back and punt returner.

The NFL maximum for such visits is 30.