By Ray Porter Jr. for Urban Media Today
While many media types were predicting that the Pittsburgh Steelers would draft Colorado QB Shadeur Sanders with the 21st overall pick in the NFL Draft, they chose to think need not speed as they chose Oregon DT Derrick Harmon.
“Obviously, an exciting day for us,” said Steelers GM Omar Khan. “I think the other day when we met, we talked about certain guys that we would not trade away from, and this is one of those players for us. The phone was ringing, and we had many serious conversations but at the end of the day once Derrick was still there, we were excited, and it was an easy choice for us. Can’t wait to get him here. He fits the Pittsburgh Steelers, and you know, like I said, I can’t wait to get him in here.”
After a 2024 season in which their run defense gave up under 100 yards a game and faced significant challenges against Baltimore’s Derrick Henry and other opponents in December, the Steelers knew this was an opportunity to help overcome those challenges by drafting one of the top Interior Linemen in the country.
“Like Omar said, he has Steelers DNA,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “For us, it starts inside and up front, and this is a guy that’s capable of dominating that space versus the run and the pass. So, we’re really excited about having him. As Omar mentioned, we were not interested in considering trading away from him and really excited about getting him in here and getting started.”
Harmon, 21 (6-5, 310), started all 14 games in his lone season with the Ducks while earning second-team all-American honors from three outlets. He was All-Big Ten second-team selection by the media and a third-team selection by the League’s coaches. He racked up a career-high 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks while finishing the season with 45 total tackles (27 solo). He broke up four passes, forced two fumbles, and recovered a pair of fumbles. In his final season with the Michigan State Spartans, Harmon played in all 12 games, making 10 starts, and recorded a career-high 40 tackles, the most among Michigan State defensive linemen. He had a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He played a total of 475 snaps, the most of Spartan interior defensive linemen.
When asked about how urgent the Steelers were when they wanted to draft a DT, Tomlin replied, “Extreme urgency to be quite honest with you. There’s no substitute for young talent. You don’t have a chance to fill a quality defense unless you’re stout up front. This is a guy that has the opportunity to look for the likes of Cam Hayward and put his hands in that pile and be a significant contributor for years to come.”
The veteran Heyward is a 7-time Pro Bowler, 4-time All-Pro, but he is also 35 years old and may only have a year or two left in his Hall of Fame career. The Steelers know that it’s wise to draft his eventual replacement sooner than later.
“Cam is a team player. He wasn’t really advocating for anyone, to be quite honest with you. But he’s a quality leader, and I’m sure that he will take that personally,” said Tomlin.
Tomlin feels like the addition of Harmon and pairing him with 2023 Draft pick Keeanu Benton will be beneficial.
“I think we have two quality young players who hopefully are going to play a long time together and have a great deal of success,” said Tomlin. “Both guys are versatile, and both guys are stout against the run and both guys are pass rush capable. We’ll sort some of those details out once we get them on the grass and begin the process of team development for 2025.”
When asked if there were any areas that they expect Harmon to improve in, Khan responded, “He’s a young guy; he’s 21 years old. You know, I think the ceiling is really high for him, and you know, we’ll see where it goes. I mean, I think we can all improve at everything we do in life. But he’s got a good opportunity.”
Tomlin commented, “I was going to say, not to specifically avoid answering your question but a 21-year-old guy, he’s got a lot of tools in his toolbox, but there’s a lot of areas for improvement as he transitions from college to professional football. We’ll have a better sense of it as we begin to work and see him in that setting.”
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