The Pro Day circuit continues to roll along in the pre-draft process and the Pittsburgh Steelers remain quite busy on it.
On Monday, the Steelers were in attendance at the UCLA Bruins' Pro Day as director of player Scouting Mark Sadowski was spotted. There, the Steelers reportedly showed interest in a defensive player.
According to NFL Insider Aaron Wilson, the Steelers were among a handful of teams that met with or showed interest in linebacker Joseph Vaughn. Along with the Steelers, the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, and New York Giants have shown interest in the linebacker, who also previously met with the Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears at the College Gridiron Showcase back in January.
Vaughn, a redshirt senior from San Jose, transferred to UCLA for the 2024 season after four seasons at Yale.
In four years at Yale, Vaughn played in 32 games and recorded 139 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, four interceptions, two touchdowns and three forced fumbles. He earned first-team All-Ivy League honors in 2023 after helping leading Yale to a share of the Ivy League championship.
Transferring to UCLA was a chance to get back closer to home and improve his potential pro outlook, but Vaughn found himself in a reserve role with the Bruins and recorded just eight tackles in 2024. He had three tackles on the road against Penn State and then two tackles against Fresno State to close the season.
At his Pro Day, Vaughn had some solid testing numbers. He measured in at 6023, 234 pounds with 9 3/8-inch hands, 32 5/8-inch arms and a 78 3/8-inch wingspan.
On top of his measurements, Vaughn clocked a 4.66 40-yard dash, which would have been eight-best among all linebackers at the Combine. He also had a 1.66 10-yard split, jumped 41.5 inches in the vertical, and had a 10'3'' broad jump. The vertical would have been the best at the Combine among all linebackers, while the broad jump would have been tied for fourth best.
He also clocked a short shuttle of 4.18 seconds, a 6.82 3-cone, and had 21 reps on the bench.
Vaughn has been invited to the San Francisco 49ers' local pro day, giving him a chance to get in front of more NFL scouts during the pre-draft process.
After signing Malik Harrison in free agency and agreeing to a contract restructure with Cole Holcomb to keep him around, the Steelers' linebacker room is getting a bit crowded, but you can never have enough bodies there, especially in the offseason. With his Ivy League resume and the strong testing numbers and measurements, Vaughn could be a name to know late in the 2025 NFL Draft when it comes to potential undrafted free agents for the Black and Gold.
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