The Pittsburgh Steelers used their first-round pick to select Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon 21st overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, looking to bolster a defensive line unit that had been eviscerated on the ground by the Baltimore Ravens in the Wildcard Round of the playoffs. Harmon was one of the top defensive line prospects in the draft, and fell right into Pittsburgh’s lap as a near-perfect fit for their scheme.
One would expect Harmon to contribute early in his rookie season, given his pedigree and the investment Pittsburgh made in him. However, would it be fair to expect Harmon to be a starter Day 1 when the 2025 regular season kicks off September 7 against the New York Jets? That could be up to interpretation due to a couple of key variables at play.
On one hand, it would make sense to project Harmon as a Day 1 starter on Pittsburgh’s defense. He was their top pick in the draft and has a well-rounded game as a run defender as well as a pass rusher. Our own Alex Kozora gave a firm Round 1 grade in his scouting report on Harmon, calling a Year 1 Quality Starter based on our grading system.
When you look at Pittsburgh’s current depth chart, there is also an immediate path to a starting job for Harmon. Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton will be expected to start in Pittsburgh’s 3-4 base front, but behind them, the next likely starters for Pittsburgh include veterans Isaiahh Loudermilk or Dean Lowry. Both project as moderate-floor, low-ceiling run stuffers that can hold their own on early downs, but bring little pass rush upside to the table compared to Harmon.
Still, Derrick Harmon shouldn’t expect to be handed the starting job, as Pittsburgh has had a long track record of making their rookies earn the starting job, especially on the defensive side of the football. We can look back at DL Stephon Tuitt, who was a well-rounded player in his own right coming out of Notre Dame in 2014 as a second-round pick. Still, Pittsburgh had him behind DL Cam Thomas for most of the season, starting nine games in front of Tuitt until the rookie cracked the starting lineup at the end of the year.
We can look at Benton as well during his rookie year as another highly-touted prospect that Pittsburgh selected in the second round. However, Benton was brought along slowly and was behind the likes of Montravius Adams, failing to reach more than 50% of the defensive snaps played until Week 9 of his rookie season.
Derrick Harmon has the argument of being a first-round pick to help his case of being on the fast track to a starting job. Still, much like Matthew Marczi mentioned in a previous post on Harmon for the site, the rookie is riding on one year of strong college production and is facing a stiff learning curve going from playing in the Big Ten Conference to the AFC North in the NFL. This could mean that the team could give the nod to Loudermilk or another veteran as a “placeholder” until they deem Harmon worthy of the starting job, much like how they have operated with Tuitt and Benton in the past.
Based on his traits and the current depth chart, most people looking at this situation would expect Derrick Harmon to be the starter once the 2025 regular season rolls around. Still, Pittsburgh has proven over the years that they make their rookies earn that starting nod, and the same challenge will fall on Harmon to earn the job out of training camp and the preseason. How he plays with the pads on with live reps will be telling whether he is ready for the elevated competition level. Harmon will have the opportunity to be Pittsburgh’s first rookie to start Week 1 that they took in the first round since Najee Harris in 2021.
