Steelers 2025 Draft Recap and Roster Evaluation

The 2024 NFL draft is in the books and with many experts predicting the Pittsburgh Steelers to use their 21st overall pick on Shedeur Sanders, not only did Pittsburgh pass him by, but Sanders would also not get chosen until the fifth round of the draft shocking many.

What Mike Tomlin and GM Omar Khan did instead was focus on needs. The Steelers are absolutely short in the quarterback room but given last year’s playout outing by the Baltimore Ravens, it was obvious the run defense had to be bolstered. So, with their first pick in the draft, Pittsburgh went defensive and with Cameron Heyward inching towards the end of his career, the Steelers looked to the future and selected Shedeur Sanders’s teammate from last season, Derrick Harmon.

A big man at 6’5” and 313 pounds, the Steelers found a clog for the middle who can be an absolute run stuffer. Strong at the line and able to shed blockers, it’s always been said “defense wins games.” Harmon began his college career at Michigan State before going to play for Deion Sanders in Oregon. In his final season as a Spartan, Harmon made 40 tackles and 16 of them solo. Last season was his only season as a Duck, and Harmon improved to 27 solo tackles and 45 overall. He also improved from four tackles for a loss to 11. In addition, he had the most sacks of his collegiate career with five. He will be a welcomed addition to the Steelers defensive line. Immediately Harmon is already pegged ahead of Isaiahh Loudermilk at defensive end and will join Heyward and Keeanu Benton to created a formidable front line.

Because of the trade for DK Metcalf, the Steelers gave the Seattle Seahawks their second-round pick but from the third round on, Pittsburgh had a selection in rounds three through seven. What follows is an analysis of the remaining five draft picks.

• Round three/19th pick. Kaleb Johnson-running back/Iowa. A stout 6’1” 224-pound bruiser of a back, Johnson has power and speed. At the NFL combines Johnson ran a 4.57 40. He reads his blockers well and has a burst to his running ability which will be a great complement to Jaylen Warren. The Steelers also added former Eagles running back in the offseason Kenneth Gainwell so as of now it looks like Pittsburgh has a nice three-headed monster in their backfield. 

• Round four/21st pick. Jack Sawyer-edge rusher/Ohio State. The Steelers drafted two Buckeye players in this year’s process, Sawyer and later Will Howard. Over the last three years, it seems Pittsburgh has tried to replicate the abilities of superstar T.J. Watt. Two years ago, it was Nick Herbig. Last year on came Peyton Wilson. Now in this year’s draft comes a player who has the same style as Watt and that is one Jack Sawyer. In watching his tape, I saw a dude with a motor, and an uncanny resemblance to Watt’s ball stripping abilities. He did just that in the NCAA Division I playoffs when he got a strip sack against Texas that resulted in his recovery of the ball and an 83-yard touchdown romp.
  
  With the addition of Sawyer, look now at the Steelers linebacking corps. Watt, Patrick Queen, Cole Holcomb (if he comes back healthy), Alex Highsmith, Wison, Herbig, Mark Robinson, Malik Harrison, DeMarvin Leal, and another rookie added to the mix, Carson Bruener. Pretty damn formidable. 

• Round five/28th pick. Yahya Black-defensive tackle/Iowa. T.J. Watt is not only a good ball stripper, but he also often blocks passes with his leaping ability. Up front Yahya Black will use his size to add an extra weapon to that feature. That’s because he is 6’6” weighing in 336 pounds. A big man for sure who uses his long arms to ward of blockers and knock down passes. Black also has a good ability to shed blockers. Black should make the team and be a relief player for Cam Heyward when the big man needs an in-game rest.

• Round six/9th pick. Will Howard-quarterback/Ohio State. You really didn’t think the Steelers would go through the entire draft without selecting a QB, did you? Sure, they passed on Sanders and then Jalen Milroe who was also inked as possible Steelers pick. But in my opinion, I’m happy they didn’t draft either of the aforementioned players. Of those two and Howard, I’d take Will Howard every time. He just seems “Steelers like.” Like someone he might be throwing to one day, Roman Wilson, Wilson came off a national championship run and now Howard in his final year as Buckeye, he too saw his team win the national title in the first year of the expanded playoff system.
  
  At the time of this writing Aaron Rodgers has still not made up his mind if he will be playing for the Steelers, retiring, or waiting for another team to give him a call. Regardless, the Steelers now have Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson, and Howard in their quarterback room. Mike Tomlin will want a fourth option so if not, Rodgers there is still a buzz out there about obtaining Kirk Cousins from Atlanta. Looking to the future, I believe Will Howard has what it takes to be the next franchise quarterback. I’ve said in the past without an elite QB the Steelers won’t win another Super Bowl. However, with an outstanding defense I believe Mason Rudolph or Will Howard can get the job done.

• Round seven/10th pick. Carson Bruener-linebacker/Washington. When I saw this pick and read the last name, without ever knowing anything about Carson Bruener, I recognized the last name. That’s because this kid’s father is Mark Bruener, a former great tight end for Pittsburgh. That made me excited. My first thought  was “legacy pick.” Just like Joey Porter Jr. before him, we now have a second father/son combination of a player who had a dad in Black and Gold and now the son.
  
  Carson Bruener is a linebacker though and he will have his work cut out for him to make the team given the talent level of that unit. Bruener has an eye for the ball carrier when playing and is not an all over the field guy like Nick Herbig and now Jack Sawyer. Instead, Bruener measures his angles and has excellent pursuit skills. He is also a ball hawk who scored three interceptions last season. Like many other players before him, his start will most assuredly be on special teams.

• Round seven/13th pick. Donte Kent-cornerback/Central Michigan. Seventh rounders sometimes find it difficult to make the team come opening day. Kent may have an outstanding chance to do so. However, with Porter Jr. and Beanie Bishop holding down the starting spots, James Pierre in second on the depth chart with Brandin Echols on the other side in the second slot. Then there is D’Shawn Jamison and Kent, so he stands a good chance to avoid the practice squad.
  
  A solid player, Kent had five seasons at Central Michigan where he played in 53 games and made 171 solo tackles. In 2021 his team played in a bowl game and that year he had his highest solo tackle numbers with 45. He was in on 234 combined tackles for his college career and had 46 passes defended. He will definitely push the other corners backing up Porter Jr. and Bishop.

As it is following the draft every year, those unfortunate players that did not get selected are up for grabs as undrafted rookie free agents. The Steelers, like every other NFL team signed on a handful. Seven to be exact. They are:

• Roc Taylor-wide receiver/Memphis University. The last two seasons for Taylor were very productive. In 2023 he caught 69 passes for 1,083 yards. A season later he came close to repeating his stats of the year prior with 66 receptions good for 950 yards. In his four years at Memphis, he only caught seven touchdown passes but his yards per reception were good for a first down every time with an average of 14.6 per catch. 

• Ke’Shawn Williams-wide receiver/Indiana University. Obviously signing two wide receivers that were not drafted is an indication the Mike Tomlin wants competition in training camp and there is no better way to do that than sign a kid who wasn’t drafted and will put in extra effort just to make it in the NFL. Williams didn’t have eye opening stats but there was obviously something the Steelers saw in him.



• Ben Sauls-kicker/Pitt. This is a curious signing. Chris Boswell is one of the top five placekickers in the NFL so there is no replacing him. I’m only guessing Tomlin added him in the event god forbid Boswell suffers an injury. Sauls’ accuracy percentages are nothing to write home about so hopefully the Steelers did not spend too much money signing him on.

• Aiden Williams-guard/Minnesota-Duluth. Signed on most likely for competition reasons in training camp, Wiliams hung around college for six years before heading to the combines this year to impress a team enough that they would want to draft him. That didn’t work but here he is as a Steeler. A native of Alaska, Williams was on the roster for the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl, a member of the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl Watchlist, and D2Football.com’s Elite 100 Watch List.

• D.J. Thomas-Jones-tight end/South Alabama. Pittsburgh’s running game can always use a boost, and Mike Tomlin is excited about this kid as the plan is to convert him to fullback. Thomas is thick at 6’2” and 256 pounds. Tomlin values him to the degree that he was awarded the largest signing bonus for an undrafted rookie free agent in team history that wasn’t a quarterback. Quarterback John Rhys-Plumlee received $35,000 last year. Last season Thomas-Jones caught 22 passes for 191 yards with three touchdowns. 

• Sebastian Castro-safety/Iowa University. Castro joins a unit that is already heavy handed at the top. Minkah Fitzpatrick, DeShon Elliott, and Mile Killebrew are the mainstays at this position and if Mike Tomlin opts to have Castro compete on the corner as he is on the current depth chart, then he must deal with Joey Porter Jr., Beanie Bishop, and James Pierre.

• J.J. Galbreath-tight end/South Dakota University. Depending on how many tight ends the Steelers wish to keep behind starter Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington will determine Galbreath’s future in Pittsburgh. Galbreath comes in a bit undersized in comparison to his new teammates where Freiermuth stands 6’5” and 258 pounds and the rookie is just 6’3” weighing 231 pounds. Backup Washington is even larger standing 79 inches tall and walks around at about 264 pounds.
  
  Still the rookie tight end had a good combines time in the 40 at 4.67. Galbreath possesses a 38-inch vertical leap and 10’3” broad jump. So, he is athletic. Last season at South Dakota, while fighting a shoulder injury Galbreath caught 32 passes for 469 yards. The year before he put up 579 receiving yards and scored five times.

The 2025 Steelers will certainly not be the same team that took the field last season. Back in the day, the Steelers roster remained the same season after season minus the current year’s draft picks. Now the last few years it’s been a revolving door. The quarterback room alone had undergone a complete overhaul with all fresh faces and a familiar face. Mason Rudolph is back, and Skylar Thompson signed. Will Howard was drafted and if Aaron Rodgers does not come to Pittsburgh or Kirk Cousins is not traded for, this will be Rudolph’s offense to lead.

22 players from 2024 are gone. That includes quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Kyle Allen was released to become a backup quarterback elsewhere. James Daniels is now a Dolphin. The running game now belongs to Jaylen Warren as the starter because Najee Harris is in Los Angeles playing for the Chargers. Free agent signees Donte Jackson and Van Jefferson were one-year additions for the Steelers and are now gone. Jackson joins Harris in Los Angeles and Jefferson will get the opportunity to catch passes from the NFL’s first overall pick Cam Ward in Tennessee.

Larry Ogunjobi signed with Buffalo. Dan Moore is now a Titan. The tackling machine Elandon Roberts signed out in Las Vegas with the Raiders. Cameron Sutton was not signed on for another season. More recently Montravius Adams was released. There are others but looking ahead to the 2025 season not counting this year’s seven draft picks and the free agent rookies signed, there will be 30 unfamiliar faces wearing Black and Gold. 

The Steelers raided the rosters of many teams in those 30 new additions with just recently Robert Woods joining the mix. Woods is a decent wide receiver and should make the team. Some of the other names that are more familiar with joining the Steelers are Brandon Echols who played last year in New York as a cornerback with the Jets. Markus Golden joins the linebacking corps fresh off a season with the Cardinals and Giants but spent 2023 with Pittsburgh.

DK Metcalf is easily the biggest acquisition of the offseason and will become a primary weapon on offense and if George Pickens stays on the team those two will create an extremely dangerous duo. Long time veteran Darius Slay joins the Steelers after years with Detroit and Philadelphia. Donald Parham comes in from the Chargers to provide competition among the tight ends. After Patrick Queen turned his back on the Baltimore Ravens and inked with the Steelers his former teammate Malik Harrison joins him at linebacker with the Steelers. 

In Pittsburgh’s backfield Jaylen Warren gets a running mate in former Philadelphia back Kenneth Gainwell. Combined with rookie Kaleb Johnson Pittsburgh’s running game should be improved. This offseason the Steelers were at the focal point of many conversations with nearly all of them concerning the team’s quarterback situation. I believe the buzz was overboard. Critics made it seem that we are sunk without Aaron Rodgers and that Mason Rudolph will be a failure at quarterback.

I beg to differ. Looking back at how Rudolph took over for Kenny Pickett two years ago and won several games that got the Steelers into the playoffs, he can get the job done to win a game. Now he’s back but I believe the team is better than 2023 and given the newest additions through free agency and the draft class, the defense will be better and since defense wins games, I don’t think Mason Rudolph has to be elite.

Still, the Steelers continue to wait on Aaron Rodgers’ decision as to whether he joins the Steelers, waits on another team, or retires. Art Rooney II, Omar Khan, and Mike Tomlin seem to think if Rodgers passes on the Steelers, they need to find someone else and Kirk Cousins name is the first that comes to people’s minds. Why not just wing it with Mason and try to develop Will Howard? That makes the most sense to me and if Howard doesn’t seem to be the long-term answer, look for a better option in next year’s draft.

Chasing Aaron Rodgers seems like a desperation move to me and it is not only embarrassing but silly and downright stupid. The guy has proven that he can be a locker room cancer, and his narcissistic behavior is a turn off and annoying. Sure, he can play when he is on his game, but the bottom line is that he would be a one-year wonder or one year bust. I’ll pass.