As the Steelers continue to evaluate college players in preparation for the NFL draft, they are also using minicamp to take a closer look at what they’ve got. It is no coincidence that Mike Tomlin scheduled the first of two Steelers minicamps — the NFL permits teams with new head coaches to have two such camps instead of one — the week before the draft. “It just gives you a better insight in terms of the men that you work with,” Tomlin said of seeing his players in a live, if controlled, setting. “And I think that’s important if you talk about evaluating a team and moving forward and adding to your team.” Tomlin said this minicamp, which concludes today with a morning practice, isn’t to look at players to see where they might fit in regards to the depth chart. It is, he said, a time for Tomlin and his assistants to get a better read on their players and with an eye — make that plenty of eyes — toward the draft. “It’s just good to get a general reference of the guys that you have firsthand outside of watching them on tape,” Tomlin said. “There’s a different feel you get as a coaching standpoint when you watch guys work firsthand; you see them communicate, you see what happens between snaps. You see how they emotionally respond to successes and failures.” — Scott Brown

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