Giving up 299 rushing yards to the Baltimore Ravens is a painful thought that sticks with you. When it came time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to put together their 2025 draft class, that Wild Card loss still seemed top of mind. Just as the 2024 class focused on improving the offensive line and running game, the 2025 edition put the focus on the other side of the trenches. Beef up the front seven in an effort to stop the run.
It’s not just about the Ravens game, of course. The Steelers’ defensive line was thin and aging, Cam Heyward still running strong but about to turn 36. Pittsburgh wore down in the trenches.
Maybe it wasn’t always directly shown in rushing yards. Baltimore game aside, the other performances weren’t statistically egregious. But Pittsburgh’s five-game losing streak to end the 2024 season largely centered on looking tired in the trenches. At least the offensive line had the excuse of its youth, hitting a rookie wall. The defense just splatted. Pittsburgh didn’t win at the point of attack, didn’t control the line of scrimmage, and offenses set the tone. That’s not Steelers football.
Free agency didn’t bring any big swings though Daniel Ekuale is a sturdy run-stuffer who should function as capable depth. But the draft brought big reinforcements. Oregon DL Derrick Harmon was the Steelers’ prize, a player the organization wasn’t going to trade away from with its pick at No. 21. The first defensive lineman Pittsburgh’s taken in the first round since Cam Heyward. A move that was overdue.
The team didn’t stop there. Ohio State EDGE Jack Sawyer came in the fourth round, the team’s third selection of the draft. Outside linebacker may not have felt like a need but Pittsburgh needs strong depth top to bottom. Too often neglected by Kevin Colbert, Omar Khan is keeping the OLB shelves stocked.
After a minor fifth-round trade down, Pittsburgh went back to the d-line well in big Iowa DL Yahya Black. Though the profile of a nose tackle at 334 pounds, the Steelers sound confident in his ability to play defensive end. Even inside linebacker got run-stopping acquisitions in Malik Harrison and rookie Carson Bruener, though keeping Elandon Roberts still would’ve been preferred.
That’s four defensive linemen and one outside linebacker added since the start of free agency. On top of re-signing Isaiahh Loudermilk and getting back a healthy Logan Lee, who missed all of 2024 with injury, the Steelers are throwing everything at their front seven in order to improve. It’s how the defense is built. Stop the run. Earn the right to rush the passer. Create sacks and turnovers.
There’s intent and focus. See a problem and solve it. Maybe that means passing on adding another receiver – it was a weak class, anyway – 0r a safety. Try to add everything and you add nothing.
Harmon’s still the big piece. Pittsburgh has to develop him and hope he truly is baby Cam Heyward. If he can’t become a quality starter, the rest of the additions won’t make up for it.
When it comes to the draft, the Steelers don’t hide their intent. Not in the prospects they court and select, several 2025 picks again coming from the team’s pre-draft visit list (Harmon, Johnson, and Black). And not in who they want the draft class to represent and help the team. This year, it’s all about beefing up the defensive trenches so the Ravens don’t run wild come the next meeting.
