Steelers Host NDSU QB Cole Payton Among Four Top-30 Pre-Draft Visitors

North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton entered last season as a polarizing prospect, delivered an All-American year in his only start with the Bison, then spent five seasons in Fargo waiting for his chance. Now he has Pittsburgh's attention. The Steelers hosted Payton alongside three other prospects for Top-30 pre-draft visits at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, with the group also including Washington cornerback Tacario Davis, Texas Tech inside linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, and Georgia Tech guard Keylan Rutledge.

Payton set the single-season NDSU program record for pass efficiency (193.8), total offense per game (268.9), yards per play (9.71), and yards per pass attempt (12.1) in his lone year as a full-time starter. He completed 72 percent of his pass attempts for 2,719 yards and 16 touchdowns with just four interceptions, adding 777 yards and 13 more scores on the ground. His 31 career rushing touchdowns underscore a dual-threat dimension that scouts cannot ignore. Payton then hit the field at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where he had already delivered an All-American season that carried the Bison to a 12-0 regular-season record.

He posted an unofficial 9.97 Relative Athletic Score out of a possible 10.00, ranking fourth among all quarterbacks from 1987 to 2026. His 40-inch vertical jump ranked second all-time among quarterbacks behind Anthony Richardson and Taylen Green, and his 10-foot-10 broad jump is second all-time at the position. Payton also clocked 7.12 seconds in the three-cone drill and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds at 232 pounds. He is aiming to become the fifth NDSU quarterback drafted, following Cam Miller, Trey Lance, Carson Wentz, and Easton Stick.

The scouting profile for Payton is familiar to anyone who has tracked him through the draft cycle. His sturdy, 6-foot-3, 232-pound build makes him tough to bring down in the pocket. He operates as a left-handed passer who can roll to his side and deliver accurate strikes on the move, with above-average placement on deep throws outside the numbers. Evaluators also note he plays with poise beyond his experience level, manufacturing winning plays under duress. The concerns are equally clear: only one season of starting experience at the FCS level, mechanical issues including a wide base and back half that lags in delivery, limited ability to generate NFL-caliber drive throws into tight windows, and a real vulnerability against zone coverage in intermediate spaces. Payton projects as a player whose success will depend heavily on finding the right system, with packaged plays needed to leverage his rushing ability until he proves himself a functional pocket passer.

The Combine changed things for Tacario Davis as well: a 6-foot-4 cornerback running a 4.41 forty at 194 pounds with a 37-inch vertical and a 9.76 Relative Athletic Score is the kind of athletic profile that prompts front offices to start moving a prospect up their boards. His 2024 season at Washington earned him second-team All-Big 12 honors and a semifinalist nod for the Jim Thorpe Award.

The Steelers hold 12 picks in the 2026 draft, which gives Pittsburgh flexibility to take calculated shots on developmental prospects across multiple rounds. With free agency and Pro Days pulling much of the scouting staff out of Pittsburgh simultaneously, the Top-30 visits at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex signal that the front office is running parallel tracks as the draft approaches. Payton, the FCS headliner of the group, carries the highest upside and the longest development runway of the four visitors. Whether Pittsburgh ultimately uses one of those later picks on him may depend on how much the coaching staff believes it can engineer a scheme around his considerable physical gifts.