He was already the starter coming into the preseason, so his standing as one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ top defensive linemen was secure, but rookie defensive lineman Derrick Harmon was impressive in the three preseason games, showing just what his potential is moving forward.
Though the first-round pick is dealing with a knee injury that could keep him out of the season-opening matchup against the New York Jets on Sept. 7 at MetLife Stadium, Harmon has Steelers coaches, teammates and fans excited to see what he can do in the regular season.
For The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner, Harmon was easily one of the biggest rookie winners coming out of the preseason, even with the injury hanging over him.
“Harmon was active and around the football in Pittsburgh’s first preseason game and even better in game two against the Bucs — he followed up an impressive run stop with a bull-rush sack in the first quarter,” Baumgardner writes, according to The Athletic. “He looks like an immediate contributor in Pittsburgh. A development to monitor, though: Harmon suffered a knee sprain during the Steelers’ final preseason game, leaving his status for Week 1 in doubt.”
In the preseason, Harmon played 70 snaps. He logged 32 snaps in the preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, then played 23 snaps against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, before playing just 15 snaps against the Carolina Panthers, exiting with the knee injury.
Across those 70 snaps, Harmon graded out at a 65.1 overall from Pro Football Focus, including a 58.0 against the run and a 67.0 as a pass rusher. Harmon generated four pressures and had one sack in the preseason, which came against Tampa Bay when he put rookie guard Ben Scott on skates quickly with an impressive bull rush and dropped QB Kyle Trask.
The power was on full display throughout the preseason, and he more than held his own against the run, regardless of the PFF grades.
Throughout training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Harmon focused on adjusting to the speed of the NFL game, while also locking down the playbook. The preseason opener against the Jaguars was another adjustment to the speed of the game and being inside an NFL stadium.
But once that was under control, Harmon’s talent showed in a major way. He was a force against the Buccaneers, both as a pass rusher and a run defender, and he had some solid moments in Carolina, too, before exiting with the knee injury.
Fortunately, the knee injury doesn’t seem as serious as it did when he was carted off from the sideline and was very emotional. But it will hinder his development some leading into the season. Hopefully he misses just one game and returns to the field, getting back to being that immediate contributor he showed he can be during the preseason, being everything the Steelers expected.
