The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to draft Derrick Harmon at No. 21 overall despite some projections having him inside the top 15 picks. Various reports have since indicated that a shoulder injury was the culprit of his mini slide down the boards in the first round. Harmon said pretty quickly that there are no concerns there, but he doubled down in a stronger way this morning ahead of rookie minicamp.
“Nothing is wrong with my shoulder,” Harmon said via audio posted by 93.7 The Fan. “I’m 100 percent healthy.”
One of the reports indicated that he had a partially torn rotator cuff and labrum that was detected at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. It wasn’t viewed as being a major issue, but some teams reportedly bumped him down a few spots on their board as a precaution.
As somebody who waited nearly an hour past the normal interview times at the Combine to interview Harmon, it makes sense that there were medical concerns. They come straight from the medical screening to their media availability, so delays often indicate issues.
Mike Tomlin told the media the Steelers are “extremely comfortable” with his medicals during the post-pick press conference on Day 1 of the draft. They had Harmon in for a pre-draft visit, and those include the team doctors getting a look at each prospect. If the doctors have significant issues with a player’s short- or long-term availability, those concerns are raised.
When something is called a partial tear, like it was in the case of Harmon’s shoulder issues, that could just be a Grade 1 sprain. A Grade 1 sprain is just the ligament stretching with slight tearing, but it’s far from a major injury that needs much time (if any) to recover. By the sounds of it, it will be a full go for Harmon at rookie minicamp and beyond.
