The Pittsburgh Steelers addressed a serious need along their defensive line in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft Thursday night by selecting Oregon DL Derrick Harmon with the 21st overall pick. It’s a good fit for the Steelers, adding a player who models his game after Cameron Heyward. It’s also a good fit for Harmon, who said Pittsburgh “felt like home” when he came in for a pre-draft visit.
“Just sitting down with Coach Mike [Tomlin] man, he was a great guy as far as a football coach and a person. Very relatable, just to talk to on the football side and on the personal side. So I kind of had the feeling. It felt like home when I went on a visit up there, and I’m just happy I’m in Pittsburgh,” Harmon said via audio provided by 93.7 The Fan.
Harmon gets the chance to learn under Heyward and play for Mike Tomlin, one of the most respected coaches in the game, especially by players. Harmon spoke highly of both, reiterating that he models his game after Heyward after saying so at the NFL Combine.
After allowing 299 rushing yards in the team’s Wild Card Round loss to the Baltimore Ravens, upgrading the trenches was important, and the Steelers passed on taking a quarterback to select Harmon, a player who fits their scheme well at 6044 and 313 pounds with 34 3/8-inch arms.
It’s important to take a player who can seamlessly transition to the NFL as a rookie, and it seems as if that won’t be a problem for Harmon. Tomlin said after the selection that Harmon has “Steeler DNA” and Harmon’s comments about Pittsburgh’s feeling like home certainly add to that.
He’s a player who just felt like a Steeler throughout the pre-draft process, and that’s something he evidently saw when he came in for a pre-draft visit. Harmon also met with the team at the NFL Combine as one of its allotted formal meetings, so he got to know the key decision-makers well and they got a feel for who he is a player and a person.
While the team debated picking QB Shedeur Sanders and the room was reportedly split on the idea yesterday, Pittsburgh addressed a major need in the short and long term with a defensive lineman we praised in our scouting report for his high-end traits, hand usage and power. He’s an ideal fit in the team’s defense, and he seems to be excited about joining a Steelers team with a history of talented defensive linemen.
