For much of the offseason, the focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers has been on their offense and their pursuit of quarterback Aaron Rodgers. All the talk about Rodgers has somewhat clouded the fact that this is a Steelers team that still boasts a really talented defense. Ahead of the 2025 NFL season, Pro Football Focus is ranking every position group, and the Steelers were named the team with the best defensive line, with PFF including EDGE as part of the defensive line.
“Led by edge defender T.J. Watt and interior defender Cameron Heyward, the Steelers’ defensive line continues to be the best in the NFL. Two Pittsburgh players were among the 30 highest-graded interior defenders, and three ranked in the top 20 among edge defenders last season,” Zoltán Buday writes. “The Steelers even selected interior defender Derrick Harmon with their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, further bolstering an elite unit.”
T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith were named the best EDGE duo by PFF last week, and the Steelers also have Nick Herbig in reserve, giving the team the strongest outside linebacker room in the NFL. On the line, Heyward had a monster 2024 campaign with 71 tackles, eight sacks and 11 pass deflections en route to being named a first-team All-Pro. Keeanu Benton ranked as the 29th-best interior defender, and adding Harmon to the mix gives the Steelers a rookie who led the FBS in pressures last season at Oregon.
It’s a strong group that can get a lot stronger if Benton develops as a pass rusher this season. He has just two sacks through two NFL seasons, but if he develops more of a pass-rush repertoire, the Steelers can get back to being one of the best in the league when it comes to bringing down the quarterback.
The trio of Heyward, Watt, and Highsmith is one of, if not the best in football for a front seven, and it’s no surprise that the Steelers, who were first in these same rankings at the end of last season, retained the top spot. Adding Harmon should be an upgrade over what the Steelers got out of Larry Ogunjobi last season, and if Watt can return to form after a slow end to the season and Highsmith stays healthy, the Steelers’ defensive front has the potential to carry them to a few extra wins, as they’ve done over the past handful of seasons.
