The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t draft Daylen Everette expecting an immediate spotlight. With the 85th pick in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the idea seemed simple enough: let the Georgia cornerback sit behind a deep, veteran-heavy room and grow into the job.
Instead, Everette has spent the spring and now training camp forcing his way into the conversation.
The rookie has been thrown into the fire against DK Metcalf, and not just once. Pittsburgh has kept lining him up across from the veteran receiver, and Everette has answered with enough bite to get noticed.
He has even picked up a few pass breakups along the way. On Thursday, Metcalf got the better of one rep, wrestling the ball away for a touchdown, but the bigger picture has been the same: Everette keeps showing up, and Metcalf keeps taking notice.
After that rep, Metcalf pulled the rookie aside. What started as competition has started to turn into something more useful for Everette.
“I never shy away from that type of competition because I know that’s something that’s going to make me better. I try my best to make them better as well,” Everette said.
That relationship matters because Metcalf has been one of the Steelers’ most difficult covers in camp himself. The 6-foot-4 speedster has given veteran Jamel Dean and others problems, but Everette has made him work too. Metcalf acknowledged after Thursday’s practice that Everette has “covered me so well” since he arrived in the league.
For a rookie still listed third on the depth chart at outside corner, that kind of response says plenty.
Everette said the dynamic has helped him in a different way too. The Norfolk native grew up looking up to Metcalf, and now he’s getting a front-row look at how a top receiver sees the game.
“I’m a rookie. He’s been in the league for a while, so he’s kind of someone I looked up to when I was in high school and stuff like that.
For him to take me under his wing to understand from that side of the ball as well. You can have someone that takes you under your wing from the defense from another corner, but then another receiver trying to do that.
You get another perspective of what they see, so it’s definitely helpful,” Everette said.
The Steelers have noticed the same traits that made Georgia trust him in the first place. On Friday, head coach Mike McCarthy said Everette “doesn’t look like a rookie.”
That’s not just about how he carries himself on the field. It’s also how he handles the room.
At Georgia, Everette moved from freshman contributor to captain-level presence. Kirby Smart picked him to represent the program at SEC media days, a sign of how much respect he had earned in Athens. Everette said he absorbed lessons from players like Kamari Lassiter, Kelee Ringo, and Javon Bullard, and that shaped the way he sees leadership.
“I see myself as a leader,” Everette said. “...
There are different types of leaders. Like, that’s one thing I learned.
Not everybody has to lead the same way. I feel going to Georgia, that helped me and motivated me to try to be a good leader, too, just because I was trying to follow in (Ringo, Bullard, and Lassiter’s) footsteps.”
The Steelers have also liked how willing he is to take coaching and keep climbing. Everette said being coachable is central to the way he plays and prepares, and that attitude has shown up in camp against Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr.
“Being coachable is big, I mean, that’s one thing about me. I’m always trying to be a coach just because I always want to get better.
So, like, if you have something for me that’s going to help me improve, then I’m going to be open and listen to that. That’s just how I grew up.
That’s kind of how I was raised, too,” Everette said.
Steelers defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Jason Simmons praised the rookie’s humility, poise and willingness to absorb everything around him.
“When I think about him, I think about humility,” Simmons said. “You know, he’s played in a lot of big games coming from Georgia.
Let’s just be honest, that guy has played in SEC Championships, National Championships, and you talk about [being] receptive to coaching? He absolutely is.
He is a sponge. He’s a bright guy, and the next thing is his poise as well.
And to be a young guy, well, and I go up and down to realize when you say you’re going against a quality receiver, like DK Metcalf, he doesn’t let that take him out of his technique, and I love the confidence.”
Everette’s résumé backs up the hype. He was a three-year starter for the Bulldogs and became one of the leaders in Georgia’s secondary.
In 2024, he led the team with three interceptions and two forced fumbles. In 2025, he topped the Bulldogs again with 10 pass breakups.
That background matters because the Steelers have not eased him in. They’ve challenged him with Metcalf and Pittman, and Everette has treated every snap like a chance to prove he belongs.
“That’s a challenge they want to throw me into, and they trust me to do that challenge. Like, I’m not going to back down.
I want to embrace that and show them that I’m capable of doing so. So, I’m just pretty much doing what I’m told, honestly.
And I am a competitor,” Everette said.
Around the organization, the buzz has only grown since spring. Everette’s start has turned heads, and the early returns suggest the Steelers may have found a rookie corner who is not interested in waiting his turn quietly.
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