The future of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive line looks better, but are they ready to be a strength of the team in 2025? We all saw the Steelers’ downfall in 2024, with the Baltimore Ravens running for 519 yards in their last two matchups, including 299 in the Wild Card playoff loss. One Steelers insider is concerned that the D-line won’t perform much better this season despite significant changes made in the offseason.
“I think the undoing of this team might be something that nobody’s talking about,” Kaboly said via Kaboly + Mack on YouTube. “That defensive line, man, is just not – there’s nothing that’s jumping out there that says to me that they’re gonna be a sure bet.”
The starting line should include Cameron Heyward, Keeanu Benton, and first-round rookie Derrick Harmon. If all goes well, that could be a formidable starting group, but there are questions with each of those three players.
Heyward played like a Hall of Famer at age 35, but eventually, Father Time will catch up with him. Whether that means decreased production or missing more time as his joints and muscles grow more prone to injury.
Benton has been promising for his first two seasons, but he’s largely failed to take the next step. He had just one sack in back-to-back seasons and just three total tackles for loss. There are high hopes that he will eventually put it all together, but that hasn’t happened yet, and there’s no guarantee that it ever will.
As for Harmon, rookie defensive linemen don’t always have a smooth transition to the next level. The Steelers ask a lot from their odd front linemen, and that transition has taken time for players in the past. Even Heyward needed a few seasons before becoming a perennial Pro Bowl and All-Pro player. Nobody is knocking Harmon’s potential, but a rookie is a rookie at the end of the day.
“He’s not playing 80 percent of the snaps,” Kaboly said of Harmon. “If you’re getting 50 percent out of Derrick Harmon, you probably should be happy.”
Behind those three, they have a lot of role players. Isaiahh Loudermilk, Daniel Ekuale, Yahya Black, and whoever wins the final roster spot will round out the group. Is 2025’s D-line, in its current state, better than 2024? It’s hard to put any confidence in that right now.
The book is out on the Steelers’ defense. The Ravens exposed their main issue at the end of last season, and others around the league will attempt to replicate that success. If their defensive line isn’t up to the task, the rest of the improvements on defense won’t matter.
