Midway through the 2025 season, things are starting to look up for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Though they didn’t make any splash move for a wide receiver at Tuesday’s trade deadline, they appears to be in relatively good shape despite some injury issues.
The defense is coming off a five-takeaway performance against the NFL’s best offense in the Indianapolis Colts, and the Steelers’ offense continues to play smart, efficient football with Aaron Rodgers under center.
It’s an older roster, and there will be questions about the sustainability of the Steelers down the stretch, especially as the schedule gets harder in December, but right now the vibes are high around the Steelers. It helps that a strong rookie class is stepping up for the Black and Gold.
Led by first-round pick Derrick Harmon, the Steelers saw four members of its rookie class land on the midseason All-Rookie team from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.
Though he missed the first two weeks of the season with a knee injury, Harmon has been one of the best interior defensive linemen in the draft class. Brugler has him as the runner-up to Buffalo’s Deone Walker as the top player at his position midway through the season.
“Despite missing the first two weeks because of a preseason injury, Harmon has quickly established himself as a vital part of the Steelers’ defensive front,” Brugler writes. “The first-rounder out of Oregon did a great job against Indianapolis in Week 9 using his long arms to move blockers against their will and constrict run lanes, which contributed to a quiet day for Jonathan Taylor.
“Harmon currently leads all rookie interior defensive linemen in pressures (15), and he also has two sacks and 13 tackles.”
Harmon was quickly inserted into the starting lineup leading up to training camp and has done nothing to disappoint since. Though the injury delayed his start to the season, once he was healthy, he immediately stepped into the lineup and has made an impact, helping the Steelers improve stopping the run.
He’s heated up as a pass rusher, too. He had his first NFL sack against the New England Patriots in his first start. He also had a sack against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5.
Against the Colts in Week 9, Harmon was a key component to stopping the run as part of a dominant performance up front from the Steelers. He’s been everything they hoped for.
On the season, Harmon has played 233 snaps, grading out at a 46.0 overall from Pro Football Focus. That grade obviously doesn’t match the tape, as Harmon has been one of the best young interior defensive linemen in football. PFF has credited him with 15 pressures and six run stops.
He’s not alone on Brugler’s All-Rookie team.
Fellow defensive lineman Yahya Black earned honorable mention in the trenches. After having a rather impressive training camp and preseason in which he looked like he was going to be a significant factor up front, Black has been rather quiet in a rotational role.
Black has played 173 snaps and holds a grade of 38.3 overall from PFF with just four pressures. He hasn’t been able to properly use his size and strength consistently as he continues to adjust to the NFL.
Inside linebacker Carson Bruener was also an honorable mention at his position. His impact has largely come on special teams, where he has an 89.1 overall grade from PFF on special teams.
In 137 snaps on special teams under Danny Smith, Bruener has become a key player, generating 11 tackles (six solo) on kick and punt return coverage. He was at his best against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8, earning an elite grade of 90.3 from PFF thanks to four total tackles. He’s played just two defensive snaps on the season, but his work on special teams has not gone unnoticed.
I have shown a few Carson Bruener tackles on kick coverage. Here's one on punt coverage.
He starts the play blocking on the left flank of the long snapper and ends it with an impressive diving tackle.
Bruener was involved in 3 ST tackles for the first time.#Steelers pic.twitter.com/OBCXSuJSx3
— Ross McCorkle (@Ross_McCorkle) October 28, 2025
Then there’s outside linebacker Jack Sawyer. A fourth-round pick out of Ohio State, Sawyer has come on strong for the Steelers. He earned honorable mention from Brugler at the EDGE position.
Sawyer is coming off a performance against the Colts in which he recorded his first NFL interception and provided some good reps to give Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt some breaks throughout the game.
On the season, Sawyer has played 123 snaps and has nine pressures and a sack. He has a grade of 67.3 overall from PFF, and has four run stops on the season, too. He’s played at least 11 snaps in all but one game this season, which came in Week 8 against Green Bay when Sawyer played just two defensive snaps.
After his interception against the Colts, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin praised Sawyer on the sideline, hyping him up.
There’s still half a season to go, and the rookie wall is a real thing for NFL players. But right now, the arrow is very clearly pointing up for a handful of rookies on the Steelers, each of whom is playing a key role and contributing in a big way to the franchise’s success.
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