With the 164th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Iowa DL/NT Yahya Black. The second defensive lineman the Steelers have drafted, he’s a big man likely to play nose tackle for the defense, though the team has also indicated he can play defensive end.
Pittsburgh acquired the selection via a trade down with the Kansas City Chiefs, picking up picks No. 164 and No. 226 in exchange for their fifth rounder, No. 156.
A three-star recruit from Marshall, Minnesota, and a five-year player at Iowa, Black recorded 117 career tackles for the Hawkeyes. In 2024, he notched 34 tackles (seven for a loss) with one sack. In 2023, he set single-season highs with 51 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
At the NFL Combine, he measured in at 6056, 336 pounds with long 35-inch arms. He ran a 5.38 40-yard dash with a 25.5-inch vertical and 7.63 three-cone.
Black was one of several defensive linemen who came into Pittsburgh for a pre-draft visit and is the third selection of 2025 to be picked from that 30-man list. He joins first-rounder DL Derrick Harmon and third-rounder RB Kaleb Johnson.
Our scouting report praised Black for his play strength and ability to take on double teams in the middle. Negatively, his taller height creates issues with his pad level, and he tends to play over his toes, leading to balance issues. Overall, we concluded:
“Yahya Black is the quintessential space-eater teams look for on early downs, who possesses the size and bulk to take on and occasionally split double teams as a two-down plugger. He doesn’t bring much pass-rush upside to the table and needs to work on his leverage to fully play to his strengths and warrant meaningful snaps on early downs. Still, his size and length are hard to come by, and further development on his technique could help him go from a raw prospect to a solid pro.”
We compared him to John Jenkins and gave him a fifth-round grade.
Pittsburgh began the draft by selecting Oregon DE Derrick Harmon 21st overall. Now, they add Black in the fifth to play nose tackle. Coupled with the selection of EDGE Jack Sawyer, the Steelers have beefed up their defensive front to stop the run and get stouter in the trenches.
Check out our complete scouting report on Yahya Black below.
