Player: DL Yahya Black
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Of the Steelers’ two rookie defensive linemen, Yahya Black was the more noticeable in their preseason opener. Although he played fewer snaps—and is now dealing with an injury—he probably answered any questions about his roster spot. The fifth-round pick has a job secured, so now it’s just about determining a role.
Upon initial viewing, I didn’t think too much of Steelers rookie DL Yahya Black’s NFL debut. Of course, I’m working during games, so my attention is divided. My in-game job is capturing, processing, and uploading screenshots for in-game and subsequent use, so it’s difficult to get a deep read on everybody on first pass. That’s especially true for the offensive and defensive lines, so it takes time to go over the game later on.
And my initial impressions of Yahya Black’s game were clearly wrong. Without even registering a statistic, he impressed with his handwork in particular. Barring the absence of a batted pass, he seemed to validate all that was said of him during training camp.
The Steelers drafted DL Derrick Harmon in the first round, but they liked Black enough to double down on the position in the face of other needs. I’m sure they might have drafted QB Will Howard in the fifth round, but they just liked Black that much.
After making it most of the way through the offseason, I can understand why. Although this is still very premature, Yahya Black seems to have the highest potential of any Day 3 defensive lineman the Steelers have drafted in a long time. And that’s not a short list, to be clear.
In fact, my friends, let’s go over that list. They drafted Logan Lee (2024, 6th round), Isaiahh Loudermilk (2021, 5th), Carlos Davis (2020, 7th), Isaiah Buggs (2019, 6th), Joshua Frazier (2018, 7th), L.T. Walton (2015, 6th), Daniel McCullers (2014, 6th), Nick Williams (2013, 7th), Alameda Ta’amu (2012, 4th), Doug Worthington (2010, 7th), Ra’Shon Harris (2009, 6th), and Ryan McBean (2007, 4th) under Mike Tomlin. Of that list, few even had careers with the Steelers. Some, like Buggs and Williams, had some success later on. Yahya Black could literally be better than all of them—even if that isn’t an incredibly high bar.
With training camp wrapped up and the Steelers crystalizing their new roster, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
As we speak, we are in the process of learning what this Steelers team is going to look like. The dust is settled on both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, and now we’re in the home stretch. What final moves might the team make, perhaps unexpected acquisitions or departures? They’ve certainly made a flurry of moves, though some question whether they make much difference. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
