The Steelers have had Derrick Harmon for three games now, and he is looking worthy of their first-round investment in him. After missing the first two games due to a knee injury, he managed to hop on the moving train. Indeed, he recorded a sack in his first game. But he is coming off his best showing on Sunday, including a pair of split sacks with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
Needless to say, Harmon’s head coach, Mike Tomlin, is enthused. “We made him an opening-day starter as a rookie for a reason”, he said, via the Steelers’ website. “He’s a talented guy but he’s missed some time, as well, and now that we have him back and he’s rounding out into form, I’d imagine that you’re going to feel more of his impact as well”. Of course, Harmon didn’t technically start on opening day due to injury, but he would have.
Across three games, Harmon has seven tackles, including one for loss, two sacks, and a batted pass. In all, he has been involved in three sacks, splitting two, as previously mentioned, with others. And his batted pass proved impactful, too, resulting in an interception for the defense.
The Steelers selected Derrick Harmon in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. As Tomlin alluded to, they wasted little time anointing him a starter, treating him as such since OTAs. Granted, they didn’t really have anybody else who could pass, so they were kind of depending on him. Fortunately for them, he has looked the part so far.
Through three games, Harmon has logged 118 snaps, including a career-high 48 on Sunday against the Browns. In addition to his two half-sacks, he also recorded two tackles in the run game against RB Quinshon Judkins.
On the whole, the Steelers have seen a steady and significant improvement in run defense since Harmon’s debut. While that isn’t the only factor to explain the difference, it’s certainly not an insignificant one. The Browns had little room to run, and Harmon has fit right in.
While it’s very early in his career, Derrick Harmon has certainly left a positive first impression. And he ought to—after all, they drafted him, essentially, to eventually replace Cam Heyward. He has twice as many sacks as Heyward has on the season and also has a batted pass that produced an interception.
That doesn’t mean he is a finished product, by any means. In fact, Harmon’s development is something that Heyward takes personally, considering himself responsible for leaving the Steelers in good hands once he retires. And given the career he’s had, if his successor can even approach that, it will have been worth the investment.
For now, though, Harmon just has to worry about preparing for a division rival on a short week. Three games into his career, he hasn’t proven anything yet.
