Nevada TE Cole Turner's Skill Set Has Steelers Attention

INDIANAPOLIS -- Despite lacking the premier Day 1 talents, the 2022 tight end draft class has plenty of interesting options for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The class is considered deep by most to the point where you can find contributors all the way into the later rounds. One of the more intriguing pass-catching options available is Cole Turner, a converted receiver, now tight end from Nevada.

The Steelers wasted no time and met with Turner this week at the NFL combine.

Turner is massive physical specimen, standing all of 6'6, weighing every bit of 240 pounds. A touchdown machine that reeled in 19 catches for scores over the past two seasons, Turner was named First-Team All-Mountain West as a junior in 2020 and followed that up with a Second-Team selection in 2021.

Turner obviously isn't the traditional, throwback tight end. He told media reporters at the Combine that he was looking to improve his in-line blocking.

"I want to focus on my in-line blocking, mainly because it wasn't something in the scheme at Nevada," Turner said. "So that's something I am getting a lot of reps on in the offseason and hopefully, I can keep growing there."

Turner is more of the new age, move tight end that can be utilized as a chess piece for any offense. He lined up all over the place in the Wolf Pack offense. I asked him about lining up at different positions, whether it be out wide, in the slot or in-line and his versatility translating to the next level.

"I really took pride in that, being able to play every position on the field and how they allowed me to do that a lot during my senior year," Turner said. "I feel like it speaks a lot to my intelligence as a player, as well."

Turner was a nightmare to deal with in the red zone as Nevada would throw fades to him with great success. His signature high point ability becomes a difficult assignment for any defensive player. A lot of his touchdown catches look like power forwards boxing out players for rebounds, which could be from his basketball background.

"It's who I've always been as a player but I think the basketball background helps, as well," Turner said. "Carson [Strong] and I have talked a lot about this before but in basketball, you catch 500 passes in practice and that definitely helped me growing up."

With Eric Ebron on an expiring contract, wonder if the Steelers would be interested in Nevada's Cole Turner?

Silky smooth tight end who's best work comes detached from the line of scrimmage. 6'6 with a nice frame. pic.twitter.com/euy6JBSv0U
— Derrick (@Steelers_DB) October 18, 2021

Turner alluded to his competitiveness, even when in hanging out in small groups with his friends such as Carson Strong and Romeo Doubs. Keeping with the basketball background theme, I asked him if he had the chance to play Carson, a good high school basketball player, one-on-one. Turner gave Strong a glowing review:

"He's definitely a baller," Turner said. "People think he can't really move around and stuff but he can for sure play. We definitely played a lot during our freshman year when we were younger."

The Steelers did draft Pat Freiermuth during last years draft process, who went on to have an impressive rookie campaign. They will likely lose Eric Ebron to free agency here in a matter of weeks. Turner believes he could be a solid compliment to Freiermuth, working up the seam and in the red zone.

"He had an amazing rookie year," Turner said. "I would try to learn from him and what he did to translate so well to the NFL. I think that would be a good fit."

After catching so many touchdowns in Reno, it could be easy for him to forget about some of the more spectacular plays that he made in college. When asked if he had a favorite touchdown catch, he quickly replied "I would probably say the one hander that I had against UNLV."

"It was right in front of the student section and my last time playing UNLV," Turner added. "We were up by like 40 or 50 at that point and it was nice to end the game like that."

The Steelers finally made a significant investment at the tight end position for the first time in forever when drafting Freiermuth last season. A decision that would immediately pay dividends. Add in the unlikely progression from Zach Gentry last season, the position isn't high on the Steelers list of needs.

What does make Turner unique is that his skill set is somewhat similar to Eric Ebrons in that he can line up pretty much anywhere and be a guy that defenses must be account for.

The Steelers have many holes to fill throughout the offseason and it remains to be seen if they add to the tight end room. However, If Turner is for some reason still on the board during the third day of the NFL Draft, I think he's worth the investment for Pittsburgh.

He could help turn around a Steelers red zone offense that ranked 23rd in the NFL last season.

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