Despite being the largest defender on the roster, Yahya Black hasn’t played nose tackle yet. That will change, says Steelers DC Teryl Austin. Speaking to reporters earlier this week, he addressed that topic when prompted. Although he spoke similarly after the draft, we haven’t seen it yet.
“Oh, absolutely”, Austin said of Black playing nose tackle in the future, via Steelers transcript. “When we get into some of our stuff, he will be able to play in there on the nose and do that stuff. That’s why I say he’s a little bit more agile than people probably give him credit for, which allows him to play out at the four and do some of that stuff in our base defense”.
The Steelers selected Yahya Black in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The second of two defensive linemen they drafted, he has drawn his share of attention in the face of a first-round pick. While Derrick Harmon will start, Black figures to be featured in the rotation along with Daniel Ekuale.
Even though he is 6-6, 336 pounds, Black has above-average athleticism for a player his size. His girth is still a somewhat recent development, having previously been a multi-sport athlete. He lettered in basketball and track and field events in addition to football.
It seems everybody is high on Yahya Black, particularly relative to his draft position. While it’s extremely early, the bar isn’t too high to suggest he could be the best Day-3 defensive lineman the Steelers have drafted under Mike Tomlin. Of course, they have Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel under Kevin Colbert and Bill Cowher. But the “Steelers” type of linemen and edge rushers aren’t as easy to snipe in the draft. And their profiles for what they want in those positions have also evolved over the years. There’s a reason they haven’t drafted a Casey Hampton type—rare as they’ve become, admittedly.
Even at his size, Black has shown he has sufficient mobility to do more than take up space. “He’ll be able to move anywhere in the interior”, Austin said. “He’ll be a nose, he’ll be a three[technique], he’ll be at two, he can play the four. As he gets going and learns that we’ll like him because he’s a big man that’s hard to move”.
The Steelers have seen positive early returns from not just Yahya Black but Derrick Harmon as well. While there is still a long way to go before they really achieve anything of note, they have done their part up to this point. You can only accomplish the task placed in front of you, and so far, he has done that.
