He’s still relatively young and continues to grow into his body while learning the nuances of the game, but rookie fifth-round draft pick Yahya Black is going to be counted on in a depth role for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025.
Fortunately for Black — and for the Steelers — the young defensive lineman’s best football is ahead of him.
That’s what Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz believes. Appearing on the “Chipped Ham and Football” podcast for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette with beat writer Brian Batko, Ferentz spoke highly of Black.
“I firmly think his best football’s in front of him right now. He had a series of injuries that plagued him. He played a lot of games for us, a lot of snaps in game competition. But he’s missed a lot of practice time if you look at it over a long period,” Ferentz said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “And to me, especially with linemen, really learning how to play offensive and defensive lineman, that takes repetition, takes work and practice. I guess what I’m saying is, I just think he’s got a chance to continue to blossom and grow.
“And it may be a year or two before you really start to see just how good he can become. And he’s already a good football player.”
Black didn’t miss much time in college, playing 27 games across his final two seasons with the Hawkeyes. But to hear Ferentz talk, Black battled injuries that kept him out of practices throughout the week, which hindered some of his development.
Of course, he still showed up on game days and made plays, finishing with 85 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and seven passes defensed in those final two seasons. But that time during the week to work on technique, hand usage and positioning is valuable, especially in the trenches. Black missing some of it while taking care of injuries limited his abilities some in college.
Now that he’s healthy in Pittsburgh, the belief is that the big defensive lineman will take off. He’s learning the Steelers’ defense at the 4i position alongside Cameron Heyward and first-round pick Derrick Harmon, getting to immerse himself in the Steelers’ culture in the defensive line room under coach Karl Dunbar.
He has the flexibility to play up and down the defensive line, which will make him quite valuable to the Steelers, not only as a rookie, but moving forward, too. And as he continues to gain more experience and use practice time to really hone his technique, he should get even better. That would potentially give the Steelers a late-round steal, especially if he can develop his pass rush abilities, pairing that with his stout run defense.
