The Pittsburgh Steelers love their bloodlines, and they tapped into them Saturday with the 226th overall pick in the seventh round in the 2025 NFL Draft. They landed Washington’s Carson Bruener, the son of former Steelers first-round tight end and current scout Mark Bruener, shoring up depth at the inside linebacker position.
Though they have Cole Holcomb, Malik Harrison and Mark Robinson behind Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson, the Steelers need more depth and talent there. Bruener brings both in abundance, especially on special teams.
There, Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith sees a four-phase contributor who will be “relentless” and a “good player” for the Steelers.
“He’s a four-phase guy. Punt, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return,” Smith said of Bruener, according to video via the Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski on Twitter. “He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast. He’s relentless. He should be a good player for us.”
“Relentless” is a good adjective for Bruener. He is a tackling machine who makes plays all over the field and racks up tackles. Last season at Washington, Bruener finished the season with 104 tackles, two tackles for loss, three interceptions, one forced fumble and five pass breakups.
He earned third-team All-Big Ten accolades and was one of just two conference defensive players with 100+ tackles and three or more interceptions in 2024, earning Washington’s defensive MVP award.
After spending time in a rotation in 2023 at linebacker, Bruener took over the starting role in 2024 and produced at a very high level for the Huskies.
In a scouting report for Steelers Depot, we had this to say about Bruener:
“He’s a tackling machine, tough as nails, and a good communicator and leadership presence. Bruener showed his strengths working downhill against the run and flashed the ability to work in coverage, particularly zone, where he has good eyes and a good feel for what offenses are trying to do. His ball skills are above average for the position, too. I just have real concerns about his lateral agility, though.
“He can develop into a rotational linebacker who can handle a three-down role for an extended stretch. Still, at the very least right away, Bruener can be a key special teams piece that can eventually be a special teams captain in the league.”
Though the Steelers have a number of inside linebackers, Robinson is going into the final year of his rookie contract, Holcomb is still coming back from a devastating knee injury, and Harrison is a bit of an unknown with the Steelers. Special teams standout Tyler Matakevich is a free agent, too, so there will be an opportunity for Bruener to carve out a role with the same team his father played for from 1995-2003.
