As the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine is underway in Indianapolis, team needs and potential targets in the upcoming NFL Draft will start to get a bit clearer. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of the biggest needs happens to be along the defensive line, which lines up perfectly with a very deep and talented draft class at the position.
One name that continues to be connected to the Steelers is Michigan defensive lineman Kenneth Grant. Turns out, the Steelers had a formal meeting with the Wolverines’ hulking defensive tackle.
Speaking with reporters at the Combine, including Steelers Depot’s own Joe Clark, Jonathan Heitritter and Ross McCorkle, Grant stated that he had a “very serious” meeting with the Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin, and said the Steelers want competitors who are ready to go.
“Yeah, I met with the Steelers. Very serious. They want competitors, they want to know dudes that’s ready to go,” Grant said of his meeting with the Steelers, which included Tomlin.
“He’s a pretty cool dude,” Grant added regarding Tomlin. “You know, most people think he’s so serious. But you know, he’s all about his business and he’s easy to communicate with.”
That’s a common refrain from players that have met with the Steelers in the pre-draft process. Kansas CB Cobee Bryant, who met with the Steelers at the East-West Shrine Bowl, stated that the Steelers said they want “dawgs” and now Grant is saying something similar.
The Steelers need those competitors in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball to help correct a major issue that plagued the Steelers down the stretch, which was the inability to stop the run. 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.
At the Combine, Grant stated that his playing weight is at 345 pounds, but he’s currently at 332 pounds to help him test better in drills this week.
Last season at Michigan, Grant was 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.
“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.”
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah connected the Steelers to Grant last week in his pre-Combine conference call with the media, stating that Steelers fans “should be pumped up” if Pittsburgh is able to land Grant in the draft, stating that Grant has a lot of upside for his size and can play inside or outside.
With a major need along the defensive line, Grant could be a nice piece to put alongside Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton to help shore up some run defense and add more juice to the pass rush in the process.
