By RAY FITTIPALDO

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

(TNS) —The Steelers are playing host to one of the top receivers, one of the top running backs and one of the top cornerbacks in this year’s draft on Thursday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

Texas receiver Matthew Golden, Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson and Florida State cornerback Azareye’h Thomas are meeting with Steelers coaches along with Pitt tight end Gavin Bartholomew.

Even though the Steelers acquired DK Metcalf in a trade last month, they remain focused on receivers during the pre-draft process. GM Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin were in attendance at Texas’ pro day last week, and Golden is the third receiver to take a pre-draft visit to the Steelers. TCU’s Savion Williams and Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins visited last month.

If the Steelers want to draft Golden, they’d likely have to use their first-round pick (No. 21) on him. He was the fastest player at the NFL combine last month, posting a blazing 4.29 in the 40-yard dash.

Last season at Texas, Golden set career highs in receptions (58), yards (987) and touchdowns (9). He is NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s 16th-ranked player in this year’s draft.

Johnson, Jeremiah’s 45th-ranked prospect, was named a second-team All-American and first-team all-Big Ten after a fantastic 2024 season in which he rushed for 1,537 yards and scored 23 touchdowns. In his college career, he ran for 2,779 yards and had 32 touchdowns.

Johnson (6-1, 224) is one of the bigger backs in this year’s draft, and he ran a 4.57 in the 40-yard dash at the combine.

By bringing in players projected to go in the second round, the Steelers are fueling speculation they will try to trade back into the second round later this month when the draft commences. They dealt their second-round pick (No. 54) to the Seahawks as part of the compensation for Metcalf.

Thomas, Jeremiah’s 50th-ranked player, is another player projected to go in the second round. He is the type of rangy corner the Steelers have tried to acquire in recent years. The 2024 season was his first as a full-time starter, and he was named honorable mention all-ACC. He played in 37 games for the Seminoles and had two interceptions. He is the first corner to visit the Steelers this spring.

Thomas (6-1, 197) is the first corner to take a predraft visit to the Steelers this spring. They already have six corners under contract for the 2025 season.

Bartholomew (6-5, 246) is projected to be a late-round pick. In four seasons with the Panthers, Bartholomew had 105 receptions and scored 11 touchdowns. Steelers tight ends coach Alfredo Roberts was in attendance at Pitt’s pro day last week.

■ March 6: Mississippi DL JJ Pegues, Louisville QB Tyler Shough and West Virginia OL Wyatt Milum

■ March 14: Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson, TCU WR Savion Williams and Iowa DL Yahya Black

■ March 17: Iowa State WR Jayden Higgins

■ March 18: Pitt K Ban Sauls

■ April 3: Texas WR Matthew Golden, Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson, Florida State CB Azareye’h Thomas and Pitt TE Gavin Bartholomew