The Pittsburgh Steelers are hosting Pitt offensive tackle Matt Goncalves for a pre-draft visit, Goncalves told Steelers Now after the Panthers’ pro day on Wednesday.
That continues the Steelers’ known interest in Goncalves. In addition to obviously being familiar with his career at Pitt, the Steelers scouted him at the East-West Shrine Bowl and informally interviewed him at the 2024 NFL Combine.
A 6-foot-6, 330-pound lineman from Manorville, New York, Goncalves spent five seasons playing for Pitt, practicing right next to the Steelers at the South Side facility the teams share.
Goncalves redshirted in 2019 and after that played a little bit of everywhere as the team’s sixth lineman in 2020, seeing time at left tackle, left guard, right tackle and as a tackle eligible.
He moved into a starting role at right tackle midway through the 2021 season. In 2022, he started at right tackle and then flipped to left side after an injury to Carter Warren.
Entering this past season, Goncalves was expected to be a one of the top tackles in the draft class, but a toe injury that required surgery shut down his senior year after just three games.
As a result, Goncalves’ draft stock has fallen. According to the NFL Mock Draft Database, his current average draft position is 125th overall, at the very end of the fourth round. He could project to be either a tackle or a guard at the NFL level, and said at the combine that some teams have been asking him about doing both.
The Steelers moved on from Chuks Okorafor this offseason, who served as their top backup tackle last season after he was replaced as the starter at right tackle by 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones. That leaves former UDFA Dylan Cook as the team’s top backup at the position, and picking Goncalves later in the draft could be an option for the Steelers if they don’t take another tackle int he first round.
Because Goncalves played his college football in close proximity to the Steelers (Pitt’s pro day was held at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex indoor facility that Pitt shares with the Steelers), he does not count against the team’s maximum of 30 pre-draft visitors. His teammate, cornerback M.J. Devonshire, will also be visiting the Steelers.
Nick Farabaugh provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
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