In 2025, the Pittsburgh Steelers also had the 21st overall pick of the draft. They selected Derrick Harmon, a defensive lineman out of Oregon. Harmon filled a big need, and the pick made plenty of sense. But if he were making the choice today, ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller would have the Steelers going in another direction.
Taking part in a 2025 first-round re-draft, Miller passed on Harmon for the Steelers, opting for Kenneth Grant instead. Harmon wasn’t selected in the first round.
“They went with Derrick Harmon in the real draft. I’ll go with Kenneth Grant. Who, I think Miami was a little bit of a surprise when they took him at 13 last year. But this is a Steelers pick, right? Just a nose, big nose tackle. Someone that has, I think, the athletic ability to give you some push in there,” Miller said Wednesday on The Bill Barnwell Show. “The upside for him was Vita Vea. If you could get that type of weapon in Pittsburgh on that d-line, you’d be pretty excited.”
Grant is an interior defensive lineman, so Miller understood the need. But whether the Steelers would have preferred Grant or not, they never got the chance. He came off the board far earlier, going to the Miami Dolphins with the 13th pick.
Grant showed some glimpses in his rookie year. He played in all 17 games, but only started five, and logged 554 snaps on the year. Grant finished with two sacks, knocked down one pass, had 33 total tackles, two tackles for a loss, and five quarterback hits.
Numbers-wise, things were very similar to Derrick Harmon. Injuries kept him off the field a bit, Harmon playing in just 12 games and starting eight. But he had three sacks, a fumble recovery, 27 tackles, one tackle for a loss and five QB hits.
Harmon falling out of the first round is interesting since when he was on the field, his impact was felt. The Steelers’ defense was much better with him out there, especially against the run. Despite playing in five fewer games, Harmon only had about 100 snaps less than Grant did.
Pittsburgh hopes Harmon makes a big jump in Year 2. If he stays healthy, there’s nothing to suggest that won’t happen. If he can, it gives the Steelers a lot of depth on the interior along with his draft classmate Yahya Black, Cam Heyward, Keeanu Benton and Sebastian Joseph-Day.
Both Harmon and Grant have just one year under their belt, so there’s a long way to go in terms of truly evaluating them. But when he was on the field, Derrick Harmon showed plenty of promise, and the Steelers surely don’t regret picking him in the first round.
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