Steelers met with University of Miami TE Clive Walford after his pro day

The Pittsburgh Steelers are searching for Heath Miller's eventual replacement, and the University of Miami (FL) tight end Clive Walford is someone they have their eye on. Head coach Mike Tomlin and GM Kevin Colbert were both on hand for the Hurricanes' pro day Wednesday and interviewed the tight end following his workout.

Walford delcared himself as "the best tight end in the draft" while interviewed at the NFL Scouting Combine, and his workout certainly helped bolster such an opinion. For Walford's size (6-foot 4-inches, 251 pounds) he moves extremely well. Walford ran a 4.79 40-yard dash at the combine, and is considered one of the better two-way tight ends coming out of the 2015 NFL Draft in terms of pass catching and blocking abilities.

Walford caught 44 passes for 676 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2014 for Miami and was a Mackey Award finalist for the best tight end in college football.

The Steelers drafted Rob Blanchflower in 2014, and the rookie spent the year on the practice squad, but the team isn't deep at the tight end position. Other than Miller and Blanchflower, the team re-signed Matt Spaeth to a two-year contract, and the only other tight end on the roster is Michael Egnew who has limited NFL experience.

Experts are projecting Walford to possibly be drafted as early as the second round. With the Steelers having glaring deficiencies on the defensive side of the ball, taking a tight end in the second round would certainly come with a great deal of criticism.


(behindthesteelcurtain.com)