The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for the 2026 NFL Draft, and while NFL free agency is underway, it doesn’t mean they still aren’t doing their diligence on specific draft prospects. While a large contingent of the scouting department is on the road at Pro Days, the Steelers have started hosting prospects for the pre-draft visits.
The latest Top 30 visits are with Illinois IDL James Thompson and Pitt ILB Kyle Louis.
This per Nick Farabaugh of PennLive.com:
The Steelers have two pre-draft visitors today:
Illinois IDL James Thompson
Pitt ILB Kyle Louis
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) March 19, 2026
To get a better idea to what these players bring, here is a breakdown of their scouting reports:
Player Summary: 5th-year senior, entering the third year as a starter. Has played both end and tackle. Great frame – has the height and length with room to gain more especially if his fit is at NT. Good run defender and average pass rusher. Against the run he is good. Is an effective run plugger when playing inside. Good anchor strength – is frequently doubled up and is still able to get good vertical push and penetrate. Can occupy multiple OLs and take up space which frees up his teammates to make tackles. Solid tackler v. RBs and takes good pursuit angles. Has a quick first step off the LOS. Flashed ability to shed blocks, especially v. INPU. Comes off the snap at a low pad level and plays with good leverage and bend especially for his size and frame. As a pass rusher, he is average to below average. Because of his anchor strength can occupy defenders who make sacks which can account for his lack of production. Has a good long-arm technique and a decent swim move in the games viewed, but too often gets neutralized one-on-one and exposes his chest. Occasionally overpursues the QB instead of playing within his frame under control. Has a good first step but isn’t particularly explosive in either area. Plays with good effort and stays in the hunt with no loafing.
Scheme Fit: DT
Power Statement: Although he has played both end and tackle, James is likely a fit inside in the NFL. He has a good frame and flashes strengths as a run defender. If he improves as a pass rusher he could improve his draft stock.
Draft Profile: Kyle Louis came to Pittsburgh from East Orange, New Jersey, where he captained a 13-0 team to the North Jersey Group 5 Regional Championship as a senior. He posted 118 tackles and 32 tackles for loss that year, though his three-star recruiting profile kept his arrival in Pat Narduzzi’s program relatively quiet.
Louis redshirted in 2022 and saw limited action as a redshirt freshman in 2023, appearing in nine games with two starts and collecting 19 tackles. His sophomore season in 2024 changed everything. He started all 13 games at Star linebacker and finished with 101 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, and four interceptions, highlighted by a 59-yard pick-six against Syracuse. Those numbers earned him first-team All-American honors from The Sporting News, making him Pitt’s first sophomore defensive All-American since Hugh Green in 1978, along with the College Football Network’s ACC Linebacker of the Year award.
Louis followed up with another productive junior year in 2025, recording 81 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries across 11 starts. He earned All-ACC recognition for the second straight season and accepted a Senior Bowl invitation. His Combine performance backed up the tape, with top-tier marks in the vertical and broad jumps.
Strengths
Explosive closer who eats up ground in a hurry, arriving at the ball carrier before blockers can set up.
Watch the Syracuse pick-six from 2024 and you see a linebacker who jumps routes like a defensive back.
Fluid hips in man coverage let him mirror tight ends through breaks without losing a step.
Finds the football in traffic and finishes with soft hands, turning tipped passes into turnovers.
Shoots gaps with good timing as a blitzer, using a dip-and-rip to slip past pass protectors.
Breaks down properly in the open field and wraps through contact instead of lunging.
Pitt moved him all over the formation and he looked comfortable from every alignment asked of him.
Weaknesses
Gets swallowed up when offensive linemen climb to his level, unable to stack and shed at the point of attack.
Light frame gets pushed around by lead blockers, and he rarely wins those collisions near the line.
The Miami game in 2025 was a rough watch in coverage, giving up chunk plays underneath.
RPO reads gave him problems on tape, biting on the run fake and vacating throwing lanes.
Catches ball carriers near the line rather than striking through them, turning tackles into drag-downs.
Showed more inconsistency in 2025, with some flat performances mixed in against ACC competition.
NFL teams are permitted to host a maximum of 30 draft-eligible players for “top-30” official in-person visits, which are used for interviews, medical re-checks, and film study, but not for on-field testing. These, along with 3 weekly virtual meetings (max 1 hour each), constitute the primary, regulated, pre-draft engagement.
There are also the “local” visits which can occur without counting towards the aforementioned 30 pre-draft visits, and that area is a radius surrounding the team’s home city, which differs per team. For the Steelers, meetings with Pitt, West Virginia and even Penn State typically fall into the “local” visit category.
Stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes on the Steelers, and keep tabs on all pre-draft visits with our Pre-Draft Visit Tracker HERE.