In an effort to combat run-heavy offensive attacks that are having quite a bit of success across the NFL, there’s now a renewed emphasis on getting those big, run-stuffing pieces in the trenches on the defensive side of the football.
In the 2025 NFL Draft class, there’s quite a few of them who will find themselves hearing their names called early in Green Bay. And while some of those guys who will hear their names called are viewed as high-end run-stuffers, they’re much more than big bodies in the middle who tie up blockers and eat space.
Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant is one of those guys. For NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who held a pre-Combine conference call Thursday afternoon, Grant is a guy who can play inside or outside and be a true, three-down player, one who would be a good fit for the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 21 overall in the first round of the draft.
“I think Kenneth Grant, he’s got the ability and the tools to do some unique stuff,” Jeremiah said during the conference call. “And he has not come close to scratching the surface of his potential. So I would have no problem whatsoever if…the Steelers made that pick, and I’d be pretty pumped up about it if I were a Steeler fan.”
Last season the Steelers had a real issue with stopping the run, especially down the stretch. And they allowed 300 rushing yards in their AFC Wild Card Round loss to the AFC North-rival Baltimore Ravens.
Now, in the offseason, there’s an emphasis on getting some run-stoppers for the Steelers based on owner and team president Art Rooney II’s comments in January. Grant certainly fits that role.
Grant is listed at 6-3, 339 pounds and according to Jim Hester’s scouting report for Steelers Depot, he’s a guy who can play inside and outside, can stop the run and has some pass-rush juice, similar to a player like Dontari Poe, whom Hester compared him to.
“This is not your typical nose tackle of yesteryear that can be phased out of games. Grant is a dominant two-down DT with the potential to be a three-down impactful player as a pass rusher. He should test very well athletically in the pre-draft process and has all the hallmark traits you typically see for guys his size,” Hester writes of Grant. “His ability to come in and be a high-end run defender early in his career and an ascending pass rush development should have plenty of NFL teams interested in him. I think that he could play in a 3-4 or 4-3 front, depending on what teams want him to do.”
In a great defensive line class, there’s the argument that the Steelers could wait and get some good defensive linemen in Rounds 2 and later. But with a major need in the trenches on that side of the football, it might not be worth passing on an elite-level talent at the position like a Grant, or even Oregon’s Derrick Harmon.
“I think Kenneth has that upside in him. He’s gonna be 340 pounds and he’s gonna run under five flat [in the 40-yard dash]. You’re just gonna see an athlete that’s a freak. He is not a polished rusher yet, so I think that’s all in front of him. And I think in the meantime, he’s someone who is gonna dominate against the run,” Jeremiah added regarding Grant. “He’s gonna eat blocks and in a league that’s gone to so much shell coverage and become so obsessed with taking away explosives, you do that, you gotta play with light boxes. And so I do think that talking to people around the league and just, you know, following a team around the league and, and speaking to people every week, there’s more value in these guys now.
“It’s kind of, everything’s kind of come around a little bit where it was, man, if you can’t really rush the passer, I’m not gonna expend the high resources on you as a defensive lineman, a defensive tackle. And now it’s like, you know what? We’re trying to take away explosive plays, we’re a little light in the box. Having someone that can dominate against the run and let us play our coverage over the top is huge.”
There’s a lot of upside there with Grant, without a doubt. With his size, strength, and athleticism, he could play inside on run downs and kick outside in sub-packages should the Steelers want to do that with him. There’s some development that needs to occur there as a pass rusher, but the upside is through the roof for Grant. He would give the Steelers another blue-chip caliber piece to add to their defensive front, addressing a major need in the trenches.
