Welcome to the 30th daily installment of the NFL Draft 1-through-32 series on DK Pittsburgh Sports, intended to introduce you, a prospect at a time, to the top 32 players in the class on a consensus basis, leading right up to the main event.
That, of course, will begin Thursday in Kansas City, Mo., though all 32 teams, including the Steelers on the South Side, will operate from their local headquarters.
NO. 30: JORDAN ADDISON
USC wide receiver (formerly from Pitt)
Addison is the No. 30-rated player on Pro Football Focus' big board. The former Biletnikoff Award winner brings variety to the position because of his footwork and agility at and near the point of attack.
COLLEGE BACKGROUND
Despite having a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback in Caleb Williams and coming off of a season in which he won the Biletnikoff Award at Pitt, Addison had a disappointing 2022 upon transferring to USC. He caught a career-low 59 passes for 875 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games with the Trojans, and he missed three games with an ankle injury.
That happened after controversy surrounding Addison's transferring, which included Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi accusing USC coach Lincoln Riley of tampering in coercing Addison to transfer to the West coast.
That all followed an unbelievable 2021 season in which he was named college football's top receiver with the Biletnikoff Award, becoming the third receiver in Pitt history to earn it, joining Antonio Bryant in 2000 and Larry Fitzgerald in 2003. He was named a first-team All-American after racking up 100 catches for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns in that 2021 season. His reception total was sixth in the nation, his receiving yardage fourth, and his touchdown total tied for first.
Of course, Steelers quarterback and 2021 Heisman finalist Kenny Pickett was throwing to him during that ACC Championship season for Pitt.
The Frederick, Md., native Addison was a consensus four-star recruit and was the No. 10-rated athlete prospect in the class of 2020, according to the 247Sports composite. Addison chose Pitt among 12 offers. USC did not offer him out of high school. He measured at 5-foot-11 and 161 pounds and drew a comparison to former Steelers receiver Emmanuel Sanders out of high school.
NFL COMBINE, PRO DAY
Addison measured at 5-foot-11, 173 pounds with a 30 7/8-inch arm length and an 8 3/4-inch hand width at the NFL Combine. He ran a 4.49 40-yard dash to finish 0.16 seconds off of the pace among Combine wide receivers. He jumped to a 34-inch vertical -- seven inches off the pace among receivers -- and a 10-foot-2 broad jump to finish 13 inches behind the top receiver at the Combine.
He graded at an 82 on the NFL Next Gen Stats scale, though his production score of 91 ranked first among Combine receivers. In his post-Combine evaluation, NFL analyst Lance Zierlein compared Addison to Seattle receiver Tyler Lockett.
Addison ran routes in front of all 32 teams at USC's rain-soaked, outdoor pro day March 21, though Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan opted to head to Iowa State's pro day on the same day.
USC receiver Jordan Addison running routes at the Trojans’ Pro Day pic.twitter.com/yZ0C9G5bXh
— Erik McKinney (@ErikTMcKinney) March 21, 2023
MOCK DRAFT
The USA Today mock draft consensus tracker has Flowers going at No. 25 overall to the New York Giants, with an average draft slotting at 24.83. Our Chris Halicke's latest mock draft has Addison being picked by Seattle at No. 20, while my own mock draft has Addison going to the Los Angeles Chargers at pick No. 21.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE STEELERS' STANDPOINT
How fun would this be? Pickett and Addison reunited, Addison becoming part of what could become one of the best wide receiver trios in the NFL alongside Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, and Addison moving back to the place where his path to the NFL began. Plus, having Pickens and Addison side-by-side with Pickett could form a long-term combination.
COREY'S TAKE
I'm here for it.
I just don't know if the Steelers would be at pick No. 17, given larger needs. That said, if he slips closer to 32 ...
Addison is probably behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba and TCU's Quinten Johnston in this wide receiver class -- I wouldn't put him behnd Zay Flowers -- and profiles as a solid prospect. His tape from USC doesn't do him much justice, so whichever team drafts him should hope for the 2021 Addison and not the 2022 version.
THE REST
1. Alabama QB Bryce Young
2. Georgia DT Jalen Carter
3. Alabama DE Will Anderson Jr.
4. Kentucky QB Will Levis
5. Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud
6. Florida QB Anthony Richardson
7. Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon
8. Texas Tech DE Tyree Wilson
9. TCU WR Quentin Johnston
10. Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez
11. Northwestern OT Peter Skoronski
12. Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
13. Pitt DT Calijah Kancey
14. Iowa DE Lukas Van Ness
15. Utah TE Dalton Kincaid
16. Maryland CB Deonte Banks
17. Alabama S Brian Branch
18. Penn State CB Joey Porter Jr.
19. Ohio State OT Paris Johnson Jr.
20. Tennessee OT Darnell Wright
21. Clemson DT Bryan Bresee
22. Georgia DE Nolan Smith
23. Clemson DE Myles Murphy
24. Oklahoma OT Anton Harrison
25. Iowa State DE Will McDonald IV
26. Georgia OT Broderick Jones
27. Texas RB Bijan Robinson
28. Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer
29. Boston College WR Zay Flowers