CONGRATULATIONS: Steelers Just Land New Offensive Tackle
That keeps up the Steelers’ well-known fascination with Goncalves. The Steelers not only clearly knew about his Pitt history, but they also conducted a casual conversation with him at the 2024 NFL Combine and scouted him in the East-West Shrine Bowl.
Goncalves, a 330-pound, 6-foot-6 lineman from Manorville, New York, played for Pitt for five seasons, working out in the South Side facility that the clubs share, directly adjacent to the Steelers.
After serving as the team’s sixth lineman in 2019 and taking a redshirt, Goncalves played a variety of positions in 2020, including left tackle, left guard, right tackle, and tackle eligible.
By the middle of the 2021 season, he was playing right tackle out of the starting lineup. He began the 2022 season as a right tackle before switching to the left side in response to Carter Warren’s injury.
Goncalves was predicted to be among the best tackles in the draft class coming into this past season, but a surgically repaired toe injury ended his senior year after just three games.
Consequently, Goncalves’ draft stock has decreased. As of right now, his average draft position is 125th overall, according to the NFL Mock Draft Database. at the very end of the fourth round.
Chuks Okorafor, a top backup lineman for the Steelers last season until Broderick Jones, a 2023 first-round selection, took over as the starting right tackle, was let go by the team this summer. The team’s best backup at the position is now former UDFA Dylan Cook. If the Steelers decide not to choose another tackle in the first round, they may choose to select Goncalves later in the draft.
Goncalves did not count against the team’s maximum of 30 pre-draft visitors since he played college football in close proximity to the Steelers (Pitt’s pro day was held at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex indoor facility that Pitt shares with the Steelers). M.J. Devonshire, his teammate at cornerback, will also be paying the Steelers a visit.