The Pittsburgh Steelers remain one of the most predictable teams in the draft in recent years, despite claims of gamesmanship. Perhaps they like to throw a curve or two, but their pre-draft habits foretell their interests time and again. This has been especially true in recent years, and the 2025 NFL Draft is no different.
The Pittsburgh Steelers brought in eight defensive linemen and nine running backs for pre-draft visits. These are the two positions they addressed with their top two picks, including two who actually visited. In the first round, they selected DL Derrick Harmon out of Oregon, who visited April 9. In the third round, they drafted RB Kaleb Johnson out of Iowa, who visited April 3.
Over the three drafts since Omar Khan took over at general manager, the Steelers have overwhelmingly selected from the players they brought in for pre-draft visits. Now, this is likely at least partially due to coincidence, the sample size still being small. But unless or until the pattern changes, mock drafts ought to heavily feature these names.
And the thing is, the Steelers merely did what most agree they ought to have done. Minus an obvious potential franchise quarterback, they homed in on their two largest needs. They also targeted two of the deepest positions in the draft, relying on high-end talents to fall far enough.
That might not sound correct given that they used their top two picks at those positions but consider that in a “normal” year for running backs, Kaleb Johnson goes at least in the second round. And Derrick Harmon is a top-15 pick. The Steelers took the same approach in 2011 when they drafted Cameron Heyward 31st overall in a deep DL class. In a normal year, Heyward would have gone in the top 20, rather than near the end of the first round.
Of course, the Steelers still need a quarterback, but the reality is most of their plausible targets remain available. They never had a shot at Cam Ward, but only five quarterbacks in total are gone. They brought in Tyler Shough and Jaxson Dart and met with Jalen Milroe. But out there still are Shedeur Sanders, Will Howard, Kyle McCord, Quinn Ewers, and Riley Leonard. And these quarterbacks sound a lot more appealing in the fourth and fifth rounds than in the third.
Of the Steelers’ top-30 pre-draft visitors, the following non-running backs remain undrafted: QBs Shedeur Sanders and Kyle McCord; DL JJ Pegues, Yahya Black, Jared Harrison-Hunte, Joshua Farmer, Eliijah Roberts, and—that’s it. Excluding running backs, there are only seven players remaining, mostly defensive linemen. Perhaps that suggests that a double-dip is likely.
After all, the Steelers still have four more picks to go, and they’re probably not taking another running back. All of the wide receivers and defensive backs they brought in are already off the board. Obviously, they can easily draft several players they didn’t bring in for pre-draft visits. But their road map has been very clear in recent years, with 2025 just as predictable as any.
