Pittsburgh Steelers Rookie Forecast 2025

Steelers Rookie Forecast 2025

Solid Starter

Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon – Round 1

The Steelers defense suffered a big collapse down the stretch of the 2025 season, and clearly Pittsburgh was in need of some young talent on their defense. While they have veterans still playing well, players like Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt are not going to play forever, and they need more talent around them. Pittsburgh was high on Harmon and snatched him up with their first-round pick.

In the pass rush, Harmon (6-4, 313) uses his size and heavy hands to rock back guards and knock them into the backfield. He has a powerful bull rush with upper body strength to shed blockers. Harmon has a burst to close when he gets free and has surprising quickness for a big interior defender. With a bull rush, rip, and arm-over move, Harmon has some variety to attack blockers and has shown some variety in moves. While Harmon has a burst and strength, he needs to improve his ability to redirect towards quarterbacks moving in the pocket. Harmon may never be a prolific sack producer in the NFL, but he could contribute with an interior push to take away room for quarterbacks to step up.

As a run defender, Harmon is a large defender who is tough to move at the point of attack. He can anchor and hold his ground against downhill runs with the strength in his hands to shock blockers back. There are plays where Harmon blows up runs by bulling his way into the backfield or tossing his blocker to the side. Harmon does get in trouble when he plays too high. That allows guards to push him backward when their hands get into his chest. Harmon also needs to improve his lateral anchor to handle bump blocks and double teams. Harmon is going to have to improve his conditioning for the NFL. He looked trimmed down at the combine compared to his playing weight in 2024, but weight and conditioning will be issues that he is going to have to stay on top of as he ages in the NFL.

I don’t see him being a dominant interior defensive lineman like Aaron Donald or Chris Jones. However, Harmon looks like a safe pick to be a quality pro, and I think early in his career he will be a solid starter for Pittsburgh.

2024: Roman Wilson, WR
2023: Keeanu Benton, DT
2022: Kenny Pickett, QB
2021: Dan Moore, OT
2020: Alex Highsmith, OLB
2019: Diontae Johnson, WR
2018: James Washington, WR
2017: JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR
2016: Artie Burns, CB
2015: Sammie Coates, WR
2014: Stephon Tuitt, DE
2013: Markus Wheaton, WR

Most Likely To Bust

Kaleb Johnson, RB, Iowa – Round 3

The Steelers allowed Najee Harris to leave in free agency, and I feel they drafted a similar style back in Johnson in the third round. Johnson has an early-round skill set with impressive speed for a 6-foot-1, 224-pound back. With his size and speed, Johnson has a similar skill set to running backs that went late in the first round and early in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

However, Johnson is not a physical runner. Considering how big he is, it is surprising that he is not much of a bruiser who will run over tacklers in the secondary. He is not a physical force, and his feet sometimes go dead on contact. Johnson also runs upright and is not adept at dropping his pads, which would help him to be more effective at breaking tackles and picking up yards after contact. In order to be the best pro that he can possibly be, Johnson needs to start running with more anger, physicality, and violence. Right now, he is a large back with a finesse style.

According to team sources, Johnson also slid in the 2025 NFL Draft because of maturity concerns. He was dinged on maturity during the process. Between his lack of phsyicality as a runner and the maturity issues, I feel Johnson has some bust potential for Pittsburgh.

2024: Zach Frazier, C
2023: Broderick Jones, OT
2022: DeMarvin Leal, DT
2021: Pat Freiermuth, TE
2020: Anthony McFarland, RB
2019: Justin Layne, CB
2018: Mason Rudolph, QB
2017: James Conner, RB
2016: Sean Davis, CB/S
2015: Senquez Golson, CB
2014: Dri Archer, RB/WR
2013: Le’Veon Bell, RB

Potential Boom Pick

The Steelers were without their second-round pick thanks to the D.K. Metcalf trade, and I do not see a boom pick possibility with any of their other draft picks. I don’t think Pittsburgh had a bad draft, but I think Harmon will be a solid starter, and Johnson is capable of being a good pro, but has flaws that keep him from boom pick potential. The day three haul looks like a nice group of backup and depth players, but not a true boom pick. I think the Steelers’ draft was solid but unspectacular and does not have a player with real boom pick potential.

2024: Troy Fautanu, OT
2023: Joey Porter Jr., CB
2022: George Pickens, WR
2021: Najee Harris, RB
2020: Chase Claypool, WR
2019: Devin Bush, LB
2018: Terrell Edmunds, S
2017: T.J. Watt, LB
2016: Javon Hargrave, DT
2015: Bud Dupree, LB
2014: Ryan Shazier, LB
2013: Jarvis Jones, LB

Future Depth Player

Jack Sawyer, DE, Ohio State – Round 4

The Steelers ended Sawyer’s fall, and that was an okay landing spot. On the positive side, Pittsburgh needs some young front-seven talent to emerge, so there could be the long-term possibility of earning a starting spot. On the negative side, it will be a challenge for Sawyer to get a lot of playing time with veteran Alex Highsmith and superstar T.J. Watt ahead of him. Sawyer will have to take advantage of his rotational snaps to stick as a backup in the NFL. Sawyer may lack the power and speed to turn into a three-down starter, but I do think he could be a solid backup player in the NFL.

2024: Mason McCormick, G
2023: Darnell Washington, TE
2022: Calvin Austin, WR
2021: Quincy Roche, OLB
2020: Kevin Dotson, G
2019: Benny Snell, RB
2018: Jaylen Samuels, RB
2017: Cam Sutton, CB
2016: Tyler Matakevich, LB
2015: Doran Grant, CB
2014: Wesley Johnson, OT
2013: Shamarko Thomas, S