Entering the 2025 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers have some obvious holes on the roster that need to be addressed. There’s defensive line, running back, and even quarterback, depending on what happens with 41-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who still hasn’t made a decision.
With those holes being pretty clear, the Steelers have a good plan of attack entering the draft in Green Bay.
For Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman, there’s a clear, ideal draft haul in the first three picks that the Steelers need to come away with, too.
During an appearance on the PFF NFL Show with host Trevor Sikkema, Wasserman outlined his ideal draft haul for the Steelers, which featured Michigan defensive lineman Kenneth Grant, Miami (FL) running back Damien Martinez, and California cornerback Nohl Williams.
Defensive line alongside Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton is a clear need for the Steelers. Addressing it in the first round with a high-end talent like Grant appears the ideal way to go. The Steelers actually doing that, though, is another thing.
“It’s hard. They’re the hardest team, I think, maybe in the entire first round to speculate right now. So I went the other direction. You guys got me on this one. I’ll go with Kenneth Grant in the first round,” Wasserman said to Sikkema, outlining his ideal haul for the Steelers, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “For as much as I would highly consider in Emeka Egbuka or Luther Burden, they do need depth behind Cam Heyward, behind Keeanu Benton, right?
“So I understand the future play of taking Kenneth Grant in the first round, if they have the luxury to do it.”
To be fair to Wasserman, he took quarterback out of the equation here due to the complete unknown of Rodgers and the future of the position. So landing on Grant as part of the ideal draft haul makes some sense. He’s a big, athletic defensive lineman who the Steelers have shown some interest in, holding a formal meeting with him at the Combine.
That said, head coach Mike Tomlin and GM Omar Khan didn’t attend the Michigan Pro Day due to the Aaron Rodgers visit. Grant wasn’t an official pre-draft visit as part of the 30 visits allowed, so it makes it hard to see him as a first-round pick for the Steelers.
After Grant, Wasserman then added Martinez and Williams as part of the ideal haul for the Steelers, even comparing Martinez to former Steelers running back James Conner.
“I need that power that I had with Najee Harris, right? There’s a back in this round three, maybe he gets to round four, but I think he’s worthy of a third-round pick. There’s a back that I would compare, actually, Max Chadwick, I should say I’m stealing the comparison here too. James Connor, and that’s Damien Martinez,” Wasserman said of Martinez as a fit for the Steelers. “I think he’s somebody who could give you that big, cold-weather back that you don’t want to tackle. That good compliment to the cut and slasher in Jaylen Warren, and the receiver in Kenneth Gainwell. I think he would round out the room well.
“And then I’ll take Nohl Williams, the corner from Cal. I think you’re talking about, okay, the Steelers, they have Joey Porter Jr. They signed Darius Slay to a one-year deal, still need more help at corner. And the big thing with that, the Steelers play a good amount of press-man coverage, and that’s where Williams really, really excels. Plus, he led the nation in interceptions this past season.”
Losing Najee Harris in free agency to the Los Angeles Chargers was a bit of a blow to the Steelers and their style of play offensively. He was the bell-cow running back, the physical specimen that took it to defenders and wore them down throughout games with his physicality.
Martinez would be a good addition to try and find that again. Steelers Depot’s Ross McCorkle has been high on Martinez throughout the process. Adding that type of talent with the comparison to James Conner from PFF would be ideal for the Steelers’ running back room alongside Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell.
Williams is an interesting piece, too. Though the Steelers appear set with Darius Slay and Brandin Echols, they do like the bigger, longer cornerbacks who fit the press-man coverage that they like to roll with, much like Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr.
There hasn’t been much interest shown in Williams from the Steelers’ perspective, but that would be an interesting addition to the roster, were he to be part of the haul.
