There wasn’t much flash within the Pittsburgh Steelers’ draft class, but there was a lot of substance that filled major needs and has them closer to getting back to their physical, hard-nosed ways.
Even without that flash and the lack of true big names in the draft, Pittsburgh’s overall class was ranked among the best in the league Monday morning by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.
Brugler ranked the Steelers’ draft class at No. 4 overall in the NFL, behind only the New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns and Seattle Seahawks, and just ahead of the New York Giants. Elsewhere in the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens ranked No. 9, while the Cincinnati Bengals checked in at No. 29 overall.
In the three-day draft, the Steelers landed Oregon DL Derrick Harmon in the first round, Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson in the third round, Ohio State outside linebacker Jack Sawyer in the fourth round, Iowa defensive linemen Yahya Black in the fifth round after a trade down with the Chiefs that netted a second seventh-rounder, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard in the sixth round, Washington linebacker Carson Bruener in the seventh round and Central Michigan cornerback Donte Kent in the seventh round.
Brugler’s favorite Steelers pick of the draft was Harmon, a player he mocked to the Steelers at No. 21 overall days before the start of the draft in Green Bay.
“Kaleb Johnson will be as good as his volume allows in the Steelers’ backfield committee. But I have to go with Harmon, who is my favorite prospect in the draft class and landed in the perfect spot,” Brugler writes regarding the selection of Harmon. “The Detroit native is consistently disruptive and can line up anywhere on the Steelers’ defensive line.
“Despite some medical concerns related to his back and hip, it won’t be surprising if he becomes the next Cam Heyward.”
Harmon models his game after Heyward and plays a similar style. He led all FBS defensive tackles in pressures last season with 55 and was a force against the run in his lone season at Oregon, too.
After the selection of Harmon, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stated that Harmon has “Steeler DNA” and Omar Khan said he was the player the Steelers wanted all along. That fits the Steelers’ focus of building through the trenches, adding physicality with the big men up front.
Harmon brings great physicality, size and athleticism to the trenches, and projects to be the Steelers’ next building block along their defensive line.
There are some medical concerns with Harmon, specifically his shoulder, but that all checked out for the Steelers.
As for the Day 3 pick who has a chance to surprise, it was an easy selection of Brugler: Sawyer.
“The Steelers are always looking to bolster their pass rush, and they did so with Sawyer,” Brugler writes. “He might not have ideal suddenness or length, but his activity level allows him to impact the backfield. With strong hands and instincts, he can play on both run and pass downs and quickly make an impact.”
The outside linebacker role wasn’t widely viewed as a need for the Steelers, but they sure love to add depth and talent there whenever they can. Tomlin stated last season after the trade for Preston Smith that you can never have enough pass rushers, and the Steelers leaned into that philosophy with the Sawyer addition.
He might not have much of an impact on defense in 2025 as the fourth OLB behind T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig, but he has a chance to carve out a role on special teams and could serve as good depth for the Steelers on the defense, where the OLB position is the key cog in the engine.
Overall, it was a good draft class for the Steelers that addressed a lot of needs and added serious physicality and experience to their roster, particularly on defense, where they needed a significant boost.
