2022 Collegiate Football’s Top Linebacker Recruit Lands Top-30 Visit with the Steelers

On Monday, March 23rd, 2026, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a top-30 visit with LSU linebacker Harold Perkins. Ryan Fowler, a senior contributor at Fanside, reported that Perkins will also meet with the Los Angeles Chargers. After finishing his high school career in 2022, Perkins was the first-ranked linebacker recruit nationally and the first-ranked recruit from Texas. This made him the fifth-ranked recruit nationally. Perkins started right away for the Tigers. He recorded 72 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, seven and a half sacks, and four forced fumbles as an 18-year-old freshman. He put up similar numbers as a sophomore during the 2023 season. However, he suffered an ACL tear four games in during a win over UCLA. Perkins went from a versatile linebacker who was “gifted enough to play as a traditional linebacker and cover a receiver as effectively as some defensive backs could,” according to LSU head coach Brian Kelly, to having his draft stock plummet. The injury pushed his name out of contention for the 2025 NFL Draft and made him likely a mid-round selection for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Perkins' 2025 season took a step back. He finished with 56 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks, and three interceptions through 12 games. While he is no longer the highly-regarded defender he was before injury, he shows versatility and opportunity for how he can be used. Perkins' best trait, according to ESPN, is getting to the quarterback as an edge rusher. Yet he measures in at just six-foot-one, 223 pounds and has eight-and-a-half-inch hands, the smallest of any linebacker on record. He also ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash, according to the Saints’ Twitter account. This makes him seem more like a safety and middle linebacker hybrid rather than an edge rusher. According to Steelers writer Tommy Jaggi, Perkins would most likely find a role on special teams. He is “not a great athlete by NFL standards.” He is not super flashy, but he is the kind of depth player the Steelers would love to have.

While most teams would not be able to look past Perkins' size as an edge-rusher or his proneness to injury, the Steelers have 12 draft picks to work with in the 2026 NFL Draft and have taken chances before with medically flagged players such as Payton Wilson, Troy Fautanu, and Darnell Washington. Using one mid-round selection to take a risk is something the Steelers have done and likely have no issue doing with Perkins. While Pittsburgh’s linebacker corps has struggled over the past two to three seasons, its edge-rusher group has excelled. With a new defensive coordinator, hopefully able to turn the Steelers' defensive numbers around, Perkins’ capability to play both on and off the ball could provide Pittsburgh with a defensive swiss-army-knife for the 2026 season. While the Steelers' focus for the 2026 NFL Draft will likely be wide receiver or potentially offensive line, it would not be surprising to see one of the Steelers' two fourth-round picks used on Perkins.