The Pittsburgh Steelers and the rest of the NFL are more than a week removed from the festivities of the NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The Steelers added a number of players who are expected to help improve the team, not just next season, but for years to come.
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But the additions didn’t stop after Saturday’s Day 3 of the draft.
The undrafted free agent frenzy began just minutes after the final selection. And the Steelers picked up even more pieces. One of those is former Iowa safety Sebastian Castro, who is already receiving praise after his signing.
Nick Baumgardner with The Athletic dubbed Castro the team’s best free agent signing.
“A three-year starting safety — and a playmaker — for Phil Parker’s always-tough Iowa defense, Castro doesn’t have elite athleticism but is an extremely smart defender, both in pass coverage (especially zone) and run support.” Baumgardner wrote.
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Castro finished 2023 with Second-Team Big Ten honors and was twice an All-Big Ten honoree. Last season, he ended 2024 as a Third-Team Big Team member.
In Lance Zierlein’s NFL Draft profile for Castro, he noted the former Iowa Hawkeye’s “chaotic energy.”
“Scheme-dependent safety who plays with chaotic energy near the line of scrimmage,” Zierlein wrote. “Castro might lack the man-cover skills and athleticism to remain a big nickelback in the pros. He plays with urgency from short zone and rushes downhill to set a contain edge and spackle missing run fits as a run defender. Athletic testing will be key in projecting Castro’s usage.
“A lack of versatility and his age (turns 25 in October) could work against him in the draft, but his physicality, field demeanor and special-teams utility create roster value in his favor as a down safety.”