Pittsburgh Steelers hosted Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren for a pre-draft visit amid first-round buzz. Analyst Mike Renner called him his favorite player in the draft class to watch on tape. Renner highlighted McNeil-Warren's playmaking ability and physicality despite facing lesser competition.
The Steelers completed their list of pre-draft visitors, with McNeil-Warren among those generating interest for a potential first-round selection. Safety remains a need for Pittsburgh, even with DeShon Elliott, Jaquan Brisker, Jalen Ramsey, and Sebastian Castro on the roster. Brisker is on a one-year deal, and Ramsey's role could involve movement across the secondary. McNeil-Warren projects best as a strong safety, offering versatility to the unit. Renner, speaking on the Check the Mic podcast, said: “Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is what’s getting guys paid at safety, which is just playmaker in the box, playmaker around the line of scrimmage, shut down screens.” He added that McNeil-Warren could play slot corner like Nick Emmanwori did last year. Over four seasons at Toledo, McNeil-Warren recorded 214 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, one sack, five interceptions, 13 passes defended, and nine forced fumbles. His snap counts showed versatility: 966 in the box, 624 at free safety, 204 at slot corner, and 45 at boundary corner. Renner praised his tape, noting: “This is my favorite player in the draft class to watch on tape because of the way he sees the game, the way he attacks, how physical he is. It looked like high school tape at Toledo.” Peter Schrager has speculated McNeil-Warren could go in the top 15 picks, though offensive line and receiver are bigger needs for the Steelers.