For the third year in a row, GM Omar Khan and the Pittsburgh Steelers addressed the trenches in the first round of the NFL Draft. Only this time it came on defense with Oregon DT Derrick Harmons being selected at No. 21 overall.
Amid the Shedeur Sanders craze over the last couple weeks, Harmon has been one of the safest bets since the beginning of the pre-draft process due to his ideal measurements, age and college production. He was built to play defensive end in the Steelers’ 3-4 alignment with plenty of capability to slide inside in sub-packages.
According to Khan, the pick was easy. They wanted Harmon all along.
The selection of Harmon has some current and former Steelers fired up on social media.
To kick things off, Da Beard, Brett Keisel showed his excitement.
“Up front!!” Keisel wrote on X. “Welcome to the Burgh DH.”
Harmon will be playing the position that Keisel once held down for the Steelers. One of the Steelers’ Day 3 will be announced by Keisel in Ireland.
WR coach Zach Azzanni also gave a warm welcome and admitted something that not many WR-minded individuals probably would.
“Welcome to The Burgh! Starts up front!” he wrote on X.
Cameron Heyward, who Harmon models his game after, is just excited for those NIL rookie dinners.
On a more serious note, Heyward commented on the status of Harmon’s mother, who is in the hospital and on life support.
“Heart breaking but speaks to a special kid we are getting.”
Several other players reposted him on their Instagram stories without captions. Mason McCormick was among them, and he will surely get well acquainted with Harmon in the coming years as they face off against each other on the line. DeShon Elliott, Darnell Washington, Alex Highsmith, Patrick Queen and Keeanu Benton also reposted his selection on their IG stories.
