There are plenty of things you could question the Pittsburgh Steelers about over the last few years. One thing you can’t is the way they’ve built their front seven, specifically the defensive line. On the Check The Mic podcast, Steve Palazzolo ranked the Steelers’ defensive line the second-best position group in football. Only the Baltimore Ravens’ secondary came ahead.
“The depth that they have, up and down their line, led by T.J. Watt. If you just looked at the highest-rated [Pro Football Focus] pass rushers at the end of last season, it’s not even T.J. Watt. Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig are in the top six,” Palazzolo said Thursday. “That’s the [number] two and three edge rushers behind Watt. And they drafted Jack Sawyer. And they drafted Derrick Harmon in the first round, and they still have Cam Heyward playing at a high level. They have Keeanu Benton. This might be the very best front seven.”
Pittsburgh’s made a concerted effort over the last few years to build through the trenches. In 2023 and 2024, it focused heavily on the offensive line. The 2025 draft was different, with the Steelers adding to the defensive line with three of their seven selections. Now, it’s a force to be reckoned with.
There are some things the Steelers need to figure out with T.J. Watt to get him on the field. When they do, he joins an extremely talented trio along with Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig, which can defend the run nearly as well as the pass. Pittsburgh also added Jack Sawyer, who was productive in college and has several excellent examples to learn from now.
On the interior, things are more complicated, but not necessarily in a bad way. Cam Heyward’s only getting older but still playing at a high level. Derrick Harmon seems in line to start as a rookie, but the Steelers will need to figure out their plans for Keeanu Benton and Yahya Black. At the very least, the position has much more depth than it did last season when things got ugly toward the end of the year.
Palazzolo’s co-host, Sam Monson, felt the same level of excitement.
“It could be absurdly good. I think the floor for it is one of the best defensive lines in the NFL,” Monson said.
Looking at the way the Steelers’ roster is constructed, that would be a great thing. There’s a lot of talent in the secondary, but the unit was shook up last week after the Steelers traded Minkah Fitzpatrick for Jalen Ramsey. While the new faces get familiar with each other back there, the more pressure the defensive line gets early in the year, the better things will be.
That goes for stopping the run as well. Too many times last season it was something the Steelers’ defensive line just couldn’t do. They were exposed against the Ravens in the playoffs, which is part of the reason they took the position so seriously this offseason. Stopping Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson is never easy. But Pittsburgh is in a much better situation to do so now.
