Going into this offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers knew they needed to bolster their defensive front. Their run defense wasn’t good enough to end the 2024 season. That was clear during their final meeting against Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens. In the 2025 NFL Draft, they double dipped along the defensive line, taking Derrick Harmon in the first round and Yahya Black in the fifth round. With the Steelers, Black will reunite with Logan Lee, his teammate at Iowa.
And it sounds like the two have a great relationship.
“That’s my guy, especially when I was at Iowa,” Black told reporters Saturday after he was drafted via the team’s transcript. “He was the guy. He was always doing research; he always had some paper and something to tell you about. So, he told me that it’s the same culture. We’re going to head down; we’re going to get it right; we’re going to do it right. We’re going to just try to beat a man on a man.”
Lee was selected by the Steelers in the sixth round of last year’s draft. While an injury kept him off the field for the regular season, he stated many times that the Steelers’ culture felt similar to Iowa’s. That makes sense, with both teams being defense-oriented ones.
Now, Black and Lee can get back to business along the defensive line. At Iowa, Black was best known for his ability to stop the run. He’s got some work to do as a pass rusher, but the Steelers desperately need help defending the run. If Black can come in and do that effectively, he should have a spot on the team.
Although Black might seem more suited for nose tackle, defensive line coach Karl Dunbar made it sound like the Steelers aren’t going to pigeonhole Black there. If he cuts a little bit of weight, he could see some time at defensive end. That should give the Steelers healthier competition along their defensive line.
Black and Harmon shouldn’t be short on mentors in Pittsburgh, either. And Lee and Black should be able to jell again quickly. Also, it would be tough to find a better role model in the NFL than Cam Heyward. The Steelers added a lot of youth to their defensive line room. Now, they have to help hone and develop the abilities of those young players.
