Player: DL Derrick Harmon
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: Mike Tomlin ruled Derrick Harmon out for the Steelers’ next game, putting the defensive trenches in a significant bind. The rookie first-round pick has been solid all season, and their depth is less than inspirational. Fellow rookie Yahya Black has been playing more nose tackle snaps since Daniel Ekuale’s injury. There is also Esezi Otomewo to fill in, Tomlin mentioning Brodric Martin-Rhodes, too.
The Steelers will be without two of their three most recent first-round picks for their next game. Mike Tomlin has already ruled out LT Broderick Jones and DL Derrick Harmon, two key pieces in the trenches. It’s not obvious which loss is bigger, quite frankly, given the drop-off behind them.
One hopes that Yahya Black is able to take on a bigger role than he looked prepared for earlier this season. Harmon missed the first couple games, and his play when he made his debut really showed how little they had without him. There was no question that they needed him to be a rookie starter.
And even with him, the defense and the front line specifically has still had issues. Individually, all of them have mostly played well. Keeanu Benton is probably the Steelers’ most improved player from the start of the season until now. But going from Derrick Harmon to Black or Esezi Otomewo or Brodrick Martin-Rhodes could be a significant fall-off.
Especially considering the Steelers’ next challenge is one of the league’s few 1,000-yard rushers. While they held Jonathan Taylor in check a few weeks ago, James Cook will be just as problematic. The fourth-year back is having another Pro Bowl-type season, and the Steelers will miss Harmon.
Tomlin said that Harmon’s knee injury only popped a day later, even though it occurred in-game. He didn’t provide a timeline about his recovery, so we don’t even know if this is a one-game thing. Usually, when a team rules out a player before the week of practice even starts, that suggests week-to-week potential.
With regular season underway and the roster in place, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of thatchange the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
After a long offseason, we finally know what this Steelers team will look like for the 2025 season. The dust is long settled on both free agency andthe 2025 NFL Draft, and now we’re into the real thing . What final moves might the team make, if any? They’ve certainly made a flurry of moves, though some question whether they make much difference. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
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