The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive line wasn’t good enough in 2024. They were unable to stop the run and other teams manhandled them, especially towards the end of the season. This offseason, improving that group was a big point of emphasis for the Steelers. Their biggest investment along their defensive line was spending their first-round pick on Derrick Harmon. While Harmon didn’t flash in the Steelers’ first preseason game, he has still impressed Mike Tomlin.
“He’s heavy handed, he’s competitive,” Tomlin said Tuesday via the team’s website. “He’s exactly what we thought he was, but certainly he’s still very much a work in progress, getting acclimated not only to the professional game, but specifically the things that we’re asking him to do within our scheme.”
With the Steelers making so many additions this offseason, Harmon has slightly flown under the radar. However, he’s still seen as an impact player. Harmon was a productive player in college, with his final year coming at Oregon. The Steelers are hopeful that he can take the reins from Cam Heyward as their leader in the trenches on defense.
However, he didn’t show as much in the Steelers’ first preseason game as some might’ve wanted him to. While Harmon wasn’t bad, he didn’t jump off the screen. There’s no reason to overreact, though. It was his first taste of NFL action, and he could show improvement this week.
Also, reports about Harmon have been good. He might not be receiving as much attention as Aaron Rodgers, but Harmon has been impressive. Considering that he’s in the Steelers’ starting lineup, that’s good news.
We’ll see if Harmon has more of an impact in the Steelers’ second preseason game. Yahya Black, another rookie Steelers defensive lineman, impressed on a few reps. Harmon hopefully will show similar juice this week.
With training camp concluded, Tomlin is walking away happy with how Harmon looked. Obviously, as a rookie, he still has several things to improve upon. However, things look good so far with Harmon. Hopefully, he continues on an upward trajectory and develops into the player that the Steelers drafted him to be.
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