Steelers Have Direct Eyes On Important Collegiate Game Saturday

The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently enjoying their bye as they sit atop the AFC North before they return to action in Week 10 to take on the Cincinnati Bengals on the road. Head Coach Mike McCarthy gave his group the week off. However, the franchise is still utilizing opportunities to improve the team for the future. Despite not having a game this week, some who work for the organization are still busy looking to shape the future for the franchise. With many matchups of ranked teams in college football, Pittsburgh has a scout's eyes on one game to help them long-term.

As the number-three-ranked Utah Utes take on the seventh-ranked BYU Cougars on Saturday, it will help shape how the college football playoff pans. In this matchup of top-10 teams, many scouts will have a keen eye on the game as the teams play the "Holy War". Among the teams expected to have scouts in attendance is the Steelers.

John Coon of AP Sports mentioned the franchises around the NFL that will have scouts in attendance for the big matchup. He included Pittsburgh in this, as it looks ahead to the future on a bye week. Coon mentioned a long list of several other organizations that will have scouts at the massive showdown.

"NFL scouts from the Falcons, Cardinals, Steelers, Raiders, Ravens, Bills, Browns, Jaguars, Bucs, Eagles, Cowboys, Patriots, Lions, 49ers, and Panthers are at Rice-Eccles Stadium for today's BYU-Utah game. 49ers, Lions, and Panthers all have two scouts here," Coon wrote.

The one thing he did not mention in his report of scouts attending the matchup is what players they may be there to watch. For Pittsburgh, it could look at the defensive side of the ball and turn its eye to cornerback. There has been speculation that the franchise could look for help via trade at the wide receiver position as its passing game has struggled at times. 

However, the front office has also been mentioned as a group that could be looking for help at the cornerback position, especially after it traded away Joey Porter Jr. Both teams in this big college showdown feature cornerbacks that are NFL Draft prospects. 

For BYU, they have senior cornerback Evan Johnson as they enter the game, who will be eligible to head to the NFL next year. On the Utah sidelines, the Steelers could be looking at cornerback Elijah Davis. Davis is mentioned as a defensive back that is known for his play-making and also has multiple career pick-sixes. Either of the two could be the reason that the Steelers have their scouts attending the top-10 contest.

Steelers Have a Solid Core To Build On As They Look Past The 2026 Season

While the biggest goal for this current team in the Steel City is to find playoff success in 2026, they have eyes on the future on Saturday to build around an already solid core. The one strength to their roster built by general manager Omar Khan is the talent they have at the line of scrimmage. 

On offense and defense, the line is a strength for this current Steelers team and the benefit they have is they are relatively young on both ends. Despite quarterback Aaron Rodgers stating that this will be his final NFL season, the core is good enough that long-term success is attainable if they can find a long-term quarterback.

Despite the unknown future at the quarterback position, there are a lot of strengths moving forward for this roster. That is especially true on defense, a unit that is in the top-10 in the NFL in several different categories under the leadership of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. 

Davis and Johnson are just two possible players team scouts could be looking at for the future. That future is very bright for the Steelers thanks to the strong core that their general manager has built for them through the draft.

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