Steelers have one focus at OSU pro day

The next Casey Hampton?

The Steelers have longed for a new nose tackle to stabilize the front seven of their defense, and McDonald might be the best prospect to come along and fill that void since Casey Hampton occupied that spot over a decade ago.

McDonald did one thing time and time again with the Buckeyes: stop the run. Last year, he recorded 65 total tackles, 31 were solo and 34 combined. He had 3.0 sacks and two forced fumbles in addition to one pass defended at the line of scrimmage.

For a nose tackle, those numbers are absurd. For reference, another top player at this position, Texas Tech Raiders DT Lee Hunter, recorded a total of 41 and 44 tackles, respectively, in the past two seasons. Among all of the top interior defensive lineman expected to go in the first two rounds, no one recorded more tackles than McDonald.

What that illustrates is just how effective he is clogging the gaps. He is able to shed run blocking attempts with ease and swallow the ball-carrier with his massive frame. There are some areas of development, like adding some pass rushing to his repertoire, but he stands out as the perfect fit in a 3-4 base defense like Pittsburgh.

First-round pick?

The Steelers have so many options in the first round, it's becoming quite confusing making sense of it. Wide receiver is still a top priority, but all of a sudden positions like nose tackle or middle linebacker or offensive line are all just as likely of options with the 21st overall pick.

What is likely to happen again, is that the Steelers take the best player available regardless of position.

There's a strong chance that player is McDonald. The Steelers know that, and that's why they are focusing heavily on the nose tackle at OSU's upcoming pro day.