My final Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 mock draft. Last best-guesses of what the team will do starting Thursday night. A reminder that this, as always, is a predictive mock draft and not what I would do if I were the team’s general manager (trust me, no one should want me in that chair).
Using all of the evidence – team needs, Combine testing, Pro Day tracking, and pre-draft visits – to determine who the Steelers will draft with their six current selections. Though trades are possible, I don’t and won’t predict them for my final mock.
As always, let me know your thoughts and final Steelers mock draft in the comments below. Immediately below are the previous three versions of my mock.
Mock Draft Version 1.0
Mock Draft Version 2.0
Mock Draft Version 3.0
Round One – 21st Overall: Derrick Harmon/DE Oregon – 6044, 313 pounds
Analysis: For a portion of the draft process, it seemed that Pittsburgh wasn’t considering the top defensive linemen in the class, including Harmon. But an April pre-draft visit finally checked that box, putting him in play at No. 21. Ultimately, I think he’ll be the pick.
Though quarterback is tempting and if there’s one the Steelers love, it’ll trump their need at d-line, it’s difficult to see a team that gave up 299 rushing yards to the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs not make a significant change to improve its front lines. Pittsburgh only applied Band-Aids in free agency: re-signing Isaiahh Loudermilk and adding veterans Daniel Ekuale and Esezi Otomewo on cheap deals.
Harmon is the true fix. He checks the boxes of a Steelers first-round pick. Pedigree from a power conference. Youthful, not turning 22 until the team reports for training camp. Productive with an impactful 2024 season. Athletic and high character, running a 4.95 40, and spoken highly of by teammates, with a close relationship with his mother.
Drawing legitimate comparisons to Cameron Heyward, he offers the ideal size to play defensive end. It’s increasingly difficult to find prospects who so perfectly fit the mold. Harmon is nearly 6-5, over 300 pounds, with 34 3/8-inch arms.
This year’s d-line class is deep, and Pittsburgh could try to wait until the third round to address that need. But not picking until No. 83 means there’s no telling exactly who will still be on the board, and a lack of talent in the overall 2025 pool will see those defensive linemen scooped up quickly; every NFL team needs pass rush and d-line help.
Pittsburgh has spent the past two offseasons investing in its offensive line. Understandably so – it needed the attention. Now, the Steelers must do the same to the defensive line, a unit only featuring an aging Cam Heyward and Keeanu Benton as starters. Harmon immediately slides in as the Steelers’ starting base LDE and rotates behind Heyward and Benton in nickel packages.
For those wondering about my specific first-round order, I put Harmon first, QB Shedeur Sanders second, NT Kenneth Grant third, RB TreVeyon Henderson fourth, and S Nick Emmanwori fifth. A trade down is also possible, in which I assume Pittsburgh would acquire a top-100 pick and still target a defensive lineman, perhaps Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams.
Derrick Harmon Scouting Report
Others Considered: QB Shedeur Sanders, DL Kenneth Grant, RB TreVeyon Henderson, S Nick Emmanwori
Round Three – 83rd Overall: Dylan Sampson/RB Tennessee – 5081, 200 pounds
Analysis: I wrestled with where to prioritize running back, placing it lower in previous mock drafts. But after a whopping nine came in for pre-draft visits, it’s hard to believe the team will wait, even in a deep class. It’s the most of one positional group to be brought in since 11 safeties stopped by in 2016, the Steelers ultimately selecting Maryland’s Sean Davis in the second round.
Personally, I’m lower on Sampson than others (though I admit I didn’t write his scouting report or take a true deep dive into his tape), but it’s easy to connect the dots. One of the nine backs who visited, he also checks the speed and big-play element that the Steelers have made a central offseason goal. They want game-breaking backs who can provide splash to a running game that’s been more plodding than potent. Sampson ran 4.46 at his Pro Day, and his speed translates on tape. He’s a house-call threat in open grass, and he displays the speed to bounce and consistently win the edge.
Though the Steelers may finally break their model of drafting big runners, they still love productivity against elite conferences. From Rashard Mendenhall to Le’Veon Bell to James Conner to Najee Harris to even Benny Snell Jr., they want backs who proved themselves in college. If you couldn’t produce on Saturdays, you probably won’t on Sundays. Sampson checks that box with an exclamation point.
Breaking out in 2024, he led the SEC in carries (258), rushing yards (1,491), and rushing touchdowns (22). He rushed for at least 100 yards in all but three games, one in which he was injured and barely played. He registered at least two rushing scores seven times, three scores twice, and had one four-touchdown performance. He rushed for 139 yards in a win over Alabama, only the Volunteers’ second win over the Crimson Tide since 2007 (it’s reminiscent of Snell helping Kentucky beat Florida for the first time in 30 years).
Despite a lack of size, Tennessee leaned on him as its volume runner. He carried the ball 20-plus times in eight games, including a 30-carry showing against Mississippi State.
Still just 20 years old, Sampson is one of the youngest prospects in the class. Despite being a central piece in Tennessee’s offense in 2024, he enters the NFL with youth and low mileage at 422 career carries.
Even post-Kevin Colbert, the Steelers love their hearts and smarts. Sampson’s character is A-plus. From his 3.6 GPA to being part of Tennessee’s leadership council to consistent community service, there’s nothing bad to say about him as a person. He was even part of the Tennessee athletes who took an offseason trip to Botswana, where he formed a friendship with a child named Simphiwe who had lost his legs. The story became part of an ESPN feature piece, and Sampson certainly hasn’t forgotten him, referencing Simphiwe during his NFL Combine interview. There aren’t enough good things that can be said about Dylan Sampson.
Youth. Production. Character. Speed. He hits all the right notes of what Pittsburgh is looking for at the position, past and present. He’s the pick.
Others Considered: DL Darius Alexander, DL Joshua Farmer, QB Kyle McCord
Round Four – 123rd Overall: Dont’e Thornton/WR Tennessee – 6045, 205 pounds
Analysis: I’ve often touted the possibility of the Steelers drafting a receiver within the first two days, Rounds 1 through 3, during the pre-draft process. If Pittsburgh had a second-round pick, I would’ve made it happen (of course, it wouldn’t have DK Metcalf, and putting a receiver in the top 100 would be a no-brainer). At the end of the day, I just couldn’t justify placing receiver over running back based on all the Steelers’ pre-draft interest in the latter.
Still, Thornton is as interesting a Day 3 name as there is in a weak receiver class. A true feast/famine player, there’s not much volume with his 65 career receptions. But when Thornton hit, he hit big. Averaging 21.9 yards per career college reception (and fun fact, Thornton averaged 36.5 yards per catch as a high school junior), he’s a downfield threat to the highest order. The guy can block, too, a trait endearing in an Arthur Smith system.
His route tree is limited to slants and go-balls, but Thornton flashes a rare second gear mid-route to stack cornerbacks downfield. A long strider, he blazed a 4.30 40 at the Combine. There’s a ton of work to round out his game and a bunch of NFL projections, but the Steelers love betting on traits. A former coach at Tennessee (though not while Thornton was in Knoxville), wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni attended Volunteers Pro Day, one of four stops he made this cycle.
Thornton is the perfect project. He won’t play much as a rookie, but doesn’t need to with George Pickens, DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin III, and Roman Wilson ahead of him, along with TE Pat Freiermuth and a run-focused offensive approach. But with Pickens a free agent after this season, Thornton could step into a prominent role in 2026. There’s Martavis Bryant vibes here, and the Steelers have to hate that they couldn’t explore what a full career of that would’ve looked like.
Dont’e Thornton Scouting Report
Others Considered: RB Bhayshul Tuten, DL Jamaree Caldwell, S Hunter Wohler
Round Five – 156th Overall: Quinn Ewers/QB Texas – 6021, 214 pounds
Analysis: It feels inevitable that Pittsburgh comes away from the draft with a quarterback. Though it could come higher, potentially in the first round, other positions took priority, and 2025 doesn’t seem to be the year to make the all-in investment on a first-rounder.
But the Steelers have simply done too much homework on the position to come away empty-handed. They have to stop turning over their quarterback room each of the last two years, and adding a rookie to a four-year contract creates some level of future continuity, even if it’s low-level. Drafting Ewers and having Mason Rudolph on a two-year deal means at least two quarterbacks will be back in 2026.
Still, the Steelers won’t draft a quarterback just to check a box. Ewers was once viewed as a future first-round pick who ran into choppy waters during 2024 while battling an oblique injury. He rallied late in the year to play well in the Longhorns’ overtime playoff win against Arizona State before falling to Ohio State the following week. Ewers finished the season with a career-best 31 touchdown passes.
Pittsburgh loves a winner, and Ewers won at Texas. In 2021, the year before he arrived, the Longhorns went 5-7. Under Ewers, they went 27-9, the program winning 12 games in 2023 and 13 in 2024. Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan met with Ewers at the Combine and the Longhorns’ Pro Day. While he wasn’t the only prospect they made the flight for, it’s certainly notable.
Ewers is unlikely ever to be a starter or the Steelers’ long-term answer at QB. But he gives them a glimpse into a future option and will round out the quarterback room, assuming Aaron Rodgers signs. Eventually.
Others Considered: S Craig Woodson, CB Justin Walley, RB Jaydon Blue
Round Six – 185th Overall: Carson Bruener/ILB Washington – 6012, 227 pounds
Analysis: Never miss your layups. And Carson Bruener, even if not a need, feels like it. The Steelers love their bloodlines, and there’s no draftable prospect they’ll be more familiar with than Bruener. The son of former Steelers tight end and current area scout Mark Bruener, there won’t be any questions about the type of player or person Pittsburgh is landing.
A strong Combine performance that included a 4.58 40-yard dash, Bruener is athletic and productive. In his final year with the Huskies, he racked up over 100 tackles with three interceptions and one forced fumble.
Pittsburgh signed Malik Harrison in free agency and retained Cole Holcomb, hoping Payton Wilson takes a jump in his second season. Inside linebacker doesn’t have to be addressed. Still, the Steelers often carry five inside linebackers, and Bruener can battle Mark Robinson (entering the last year of his deal, by the way) for that spot. There’s also no guarantee Holcomb makes the 53-man roster, an unknown coming off a major 2023 knee injury.
This late in the draft, especially in a class as weak as 2025 is overall, it’s about finding talent, taking prospects who can make the team, and improving the roster. Bruener qualifies and will help the Steelers on special teams. As part of its five-game losing streak to end 2024, Pittsburgh struggled to cover kicks and punts, and Bruener can aid things there, too.
Carson Bruener Scouting Report
Others Considered: TE Jackson Hawes, EDGE Antwaun Powell-Ryland, WR Chimere Dike
Round Seven – 229th Overall: Donovan McMillon/SS Pitt – 6015, 203 pounds
Analysis: Under GM Omar Khan, Pittsburgh generally picks strong athletes throughout its drafts. But it has especially done so in the seventh round. FS Ryan Watts, last year’s final selection, albeit in the sixth round, scored a 9.81 RAS. In 2023, OL Spencer Anderson notched a 9.37. And previous examples under Mike Tomlin also apply, like QB Chris Oladokun.
McMillon checks the “athlete” box with a 9.20 RAS. He impressed at Pitt Pro Day with a 4.46 40 and 4.13 short shuttle with good size. He’s a classic box safety who is strong against the run and is a willing and secure tackler. Man coverage isn’t his strength, but he’s a high-floor player who could eventually replace Miles Killbrew as a safety and special-teams ace.
From the Pittsburgh area (Peters Township, for the Yinzers), he transferred from Florida to Pitt for the 2023 season. McMillon was a tackling machine who posted over 100 in each of his two seasons with the Panthers. He was also on the Steelers’ pre-draft visit list as a local prospect who didn’t count against their allotted 30.
Donovan McMillon Scouting Report
Others Considered: QB Cam Miller, TE CJ Dippre, OT Caleb Etienne
Steelers Mock Draft Recap
Round One – Derrick Harmon/DE Oregon
Round Three – Dylan Sampson/RB Tennessee
Round Four – Dont’e Thornton/WR Tennessee
Round Five – Quinn Ewers/QB Texas
Round Six – Carson Bruener/ILB Washington
Round Seven – Donovan McMillon/SS Pittsburgh
