The Pittsburgh Steelers have selected Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft. While Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart were available, the Steelers opted to reinforce their defensive front. Leading up to the draft, there were medical concerns about Harmon. Omar Khan made it clear that the Steelers feel comfortable with Harmon’s health, though.
“We wouldn’t have picked him unless our medical staff and we were comfortable with it,” Khan said Thursday during the team’s press conference after the pick via the Steelers’ YouTube channel.
The reports were that Harmon is dealing with a shoulder issue. In the draft, those injury concerns can sometimes cause players to fall. Payton Wilson and Darnell Washington are two examples that Steelers fans might be familiar with.
It doesn’t seem like that’s the case with Harmon. Khan shut those worries down and Mike Tomlin backed him up.
“We had him in on a pre-draft 30 visit, had an opportunity to get him in front of our docs,” Tomlin said during that same press conference. “We were extremely comfortable with that component.”
The Steelers did bring Harmon in as one of their top 30 visits. Sometimes, part of the purpose of those is to get a closer look at certain player’s medicals. That seemed to work in Harmon’s favor here. The shoulder injury didn’t do enough to scare the Steelers away from him.
Now, Harmon has a chance to bolster the Steelers’ defensive line. After last year, it was clear they needed the help. The Baltimore Ravens ran all over them not once, but twice, including in the playoffs. For a team that prides itself on defense, it wasn’t pretty. The Steelers knew they needed to address that this offseason.
Funnily enough, Harmon has often been compared to Cam Heyward. He’ll now have the opportunity to learn as much as he can from Heyward. Along with Keeanu Benton, the Steelers should have a stronger defensive line this year. Hopefully, they can add a quality starting quarterback, too. That still looms large over the team, even with the addition of Harmon.
