How the Pittsburgh Steelers' top draft targets performed at the NFL combine

This weekend’s NFL combine marked the beginning of the most important period for the NFL Draft evaluation period. Prospects running in shorts on the Indiana is the most football we will get between now and rookie mini-camps in May. The only rankings that matter now are how everyone stacks up in timed drills and the only relevant scores are the Relative Athletic Scores, a metric that factors in length, weight, speed, and drill times to effectively compare a prospect's athleticism to their peers at the same position. 

There is a mountain of data and information to pour through, but the Steelers needs in the upcoming draft help whittle down the focus to receivers and tailbacks. Rookie receiver Roman Wilson’s entire season was foiled by injury, and Pittsburgh spent all season trying to acquire a No. 2 opposite George Pickens. Their failure to do so helped lead to their collapse down the stretch. Here are how the receivers in this upcoming class fared.

Matthew Golden 

The Texas wideout has caught only 58 passes for 987 yards and nine touchdowns, but his pure speed is in the S-tier. Of the 10 receivers who ranked in the 90th percentile in Relative Athletic Scores, Golden was the highest. After blazing a 4.28 40 at the combine, Golden’s stock has vaulted into surefire first-round territory. The Steelers haven’t had this type of game-breaking speed at an offensive skill position since Mike Wallace was catching go routes from Big Ben in his prime. 

Isaiah Bond

Bond may have bitten off more than he can chew. Earlier in the week, Bond declared that he would surpass Xavier Worthy’s record-setting 4.21 40-yard dash. His Longhorns teammate, Matthew Golden came the closest, but Bond wasn’t even close, running a 4.39. It’s a great time, but Bond made the mistake of raising his bar and falling short of clearing it. At 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, he doesn’t possess great size, but he’s got some of the best game speed of any receiver in this class. Bond reached a max speed of 24.17 MPH during the 40, which was tops for any receiver in this class, and second to Worthy’s in 24.41 MPH top speed a year ago

Luther Burden

After a lackluster season at Missouri, Burden needed to stand out at the combine. Instead, the 6-foot-1, 206-pound wideout ran a so-so 4.41 40, the 140th fastest time at his position, completed the receiver gauntlet with no drops, but had the lowest max acceleration of any receiver. However, as a pure route technician, Burden is one of the best. Missouri’s issues throwing the football negatively affected his stock. Despite falling out of the first drafts in several prominent mock drafts, he still has star potential.

Savion Williams

The best complete pure athlete in the class is TCU's Savion Williams. He's either DK Metcalf or Chase Claypool. Choose your fighter. During his senior season, Williams logged 60 catches for 611 yards and six touchdowns. Standing at 6-foot-4, and 220 pounds, he ran a 4.48 40 at the combine and finish he has an excellent 75 percent career contested catch rate, a 40-inch vert, and led all receivers in missed tackles forced by double digits due to his thick frame, functional strength and evasiveness with the ball in his hands. As a senior, he was unlocked as a short-yardage back on direct snaps. The Steelers have been looking for a gadget player who can operate as their short-yardage excavator. After failing to re-launch Justin Fields as a Wildcat quarterback, Williams could be an answer worth exploring. 

Tetairoa McMillan

McMillan let his tape stand out for him rather than participate in most of the combine testing. The 6-foot-5, 212-pound receiver is one of the best in college football at making contested catches. His 304-yard, four-touchdown performance in Week 1 put him on the map, but he'll have to answer questions about his acceleration and ability to create separation at his Pro Day before he can be anointed the next Drake London. However, he also scored the highest on the AIQ, which may help keep him from falling into the Steelers range at 21.

Emeka Egbuka 

If you were to tally up the name mocked to the Steelers most often in mock drafts for the past few months, Egbuka would lap the field. He doesn't have the highest upside, and his 40 time was a solid 4.42. Drafting Egbuka would be the equivalent of making contact and getting on base instead of swinging for the fences. Essentially, he is exactly what you come to expect from the Steelers as a low-floor, medium-ceiling prospect.

Jayden Higgins

Higgins ran a swift 4.47 at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, recorded a 39-inch vertical, and recorded the fourth-highest RAS among receivers. Unlike the three workout warriors who outperformed him, Higgins has the numbers to back it up. During his final season with Iowa State, he caught 87 catches for nearly 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns. Nico Collins has often been mentioned as a comp for Higgins, and if Pittsburgh isn’t in the market for Cincinnati's Tee Higgins, Jayden is a potential knockoff who comes at a tenth of the price.

Treyveon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins

Arthur Smith is looking for his next bellcow, he’ll find one of them in Ohio State’s backfield. Judkins and Henderson both rushed for 1000 yards in the Buckeyes backfield last season. Judkins recorded the highest relative athletic score of all running backs in the 2025 class with a 9.89 score. Henderson was not far behind with a 9.43. March 10. Judkins ran a 4.48 40, .05 of a second behind Henderson’s 4.43. 

Judkins is the bigger back, weighing in at 6-feet-tall and 221 pounds. Henderson weighed 207 pounds but is the twitchier athlete. That reality was reflected in their production this season. Jenkins was the more physical back, averaging 5.4 yd. per carry to Henderson’s 7.1 yards. His short-area burst was evident in his 1.51 10-yard split, his aforementioned broad jump, which ranked first in the class and 38-inch vert. Judkins' combination of size, breakaway speed, and 11+ foot broad jump at his size is already drawing comparisons to Larry Johnson in 2003.