The Pittsburgh Steelers picked cornerback Daylen Everette from Georgia in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft last Friday. The selection bolsters the team's secondary depth amid an aging group of veterans. Everette brings size, speed, and experience from high-stakes SEC games.
Pittsburgh addressed its cornerback needs by drafting Daylen Everette in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft on April 24. The Steelers had re-signed Asante Samuel Jr. and signed Jamel Dean in free agency earlier this offseason. Everette, listed at 6-foot-1, 196 pounds with a 4.38-second 40-yard dash, joins an aging secondary including Dean, Brandin Echols, and Jalen Ramsey, as first reported by Steelers Depot on April 30. He faced top NFL prospects during four years as a contributor at Georgia under coach Kirby Smart, where a hot-mic rant during freshman fall camp once made him question his football future. Everette recalled Smart yelling, “You can’t guard him, and you want to play, right, and you can’t even do that? What are we doing?” before calling his mom to say he might quit—but he persevered and laughed about it at the NFL Scouting Combine. NFL scouts praised his potential as a starter. One said via Bob McGinn for Go Long, “Very good coverage skills. He’ll be a starter,” citing his size, speed, and ball skills over second-round pick D’Angelo Ponds long-term. Another called him a sizable outside corner with big-game experience but noted a missing edge. A third pegged him as a third-round starter despite lacking elite man-to-man speed. Off the field, Everette grew up an Eagles fan in Norfolk, Virginia, interned at Athens Boys and Girls Club while earning a sports management degree, used NIL money to support family, and flipped his Clemson commitment to Georgia after a coaching change.
