Steelers fifth-round draft pick Yahya Black was one of three selections who came in for pre-draft visits. Of course, seventh-round pick Carson Bruener already knows all about the Steelers and the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Only seventh-rounder Donte Kent had little pre-draft contact with the organization, which is a rarity in recent years.
But those who did visit Pittsburgh all seemed to come away with the same impression. Black and company fell in love with the Steelers, to one degree or another. When asked about his visit, Black essentially interrupted reporters to talk about the trip.
“First, can we talk about how pretty it is when you drive into Pittsburgh-going through the tunnel, and it opens up into the beautiful city?”, Black said, via the Steelers’ media relations department. “That was definitely what I saw first. And then just everybody in that facility, and everybody around there, I had such a great mindset. It really just takes me back to my college days at Iowa. It’s just hard-nosed tough, and they’re doing the right thing”.
Almost everybody seems compelled to comment about that experience of emerging from the tunnel, the city unfolding before you. And when you’re relocating to a new place, these things do matter, albeit to a lesser extent. The good news is Yahya Black also feels the Steelers are a fit for him, and vice versa.
“I loved it there. They’re great people”, Black said of his meeting with the Steelers. “I felt the love come back to me. So, the black and gold sticks around”.
Black is one of two defensive linemen the Steelers drafted, adding Derrick Harmon in the first round. They have emphasized the trenches in the last three years, devoting nine of 21 draft picks on offensive or defensive linemen. Now, only four of them have been defensive linemen, but with Harmon and Black, they made their biggest investment in 2025.
While Black will have to fight to find his place, Harmon should be a plug-and-play starter for the Steelers. In his post-selection press conference, DL coach Karl Dunbar seemed to downplay Black playing nose tackle. I think that was more about propping up Keeanu Benton, though. Black should play up and down the line—if he makes the team.
And he will have to earn his roster spot—he’s a fifth-round pick, after all. The Steelers have an abundance of defensive linemen now, though Yahya Black offers a bigger body type. Their room is mostly populated by cookie-cutter 3-4 defensive linemen. While the Steelers list Black as a DE, he can definitely kick inside better than most of the rest of the room.
