Steven Curtis brings serious upside to Minnesota's 2025 defensive line

Illinois State defensive end Steven Curtis was one of two defensive linemen Minnesota added from the winter transfer portal cycle. With Jah Joyner and Danny Striggow off to the next level, he has the chance to make serious noise in 2025.

Hailing from West Palm Beach, Fla., Curtis was under recruited coming out of high school in 2023, as Illinois State and Pittsburgh were his only two Division I offers. He played only 65 snaps as a true freshman, but he quickly outperformed his recruiting ranking as a sophomore in 2024.

According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), he played 630 snaps and recorded 16 pressures, three sacks and 26 tackles while earning a 63.6 overall grade. Listed at 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, it was clear that he had potential to continue developing into an elite pass rusher.

The fact that Curtis comes from an FCS program has caused him to fly a little bit under the radar amongst fans, but the recruiting sites view him as an intriguing prospect. 247Sports ranks him as the No. 22 defensive lineman in the transfer portal, and On3 has him at No. 30.

He is an interesting fit into Minnesota's defensive line because he played all over the field last season at Illinois State. Curtis saw 57.9% of his snaps come as a true defensive end, but 37.3% were at the defensive tackle position, and even 2.8% of his time was spent as a box linebacker. Given his size, he will likely spend most of his time on the edge, but he's shown the versatility to line up at multiple spots.

Anthony Smith will likely slide into the role as Minnesota's No. 1 edge defender next season, but the No. 2 spot is up for grabs between Lucas Finnessy, Jaxon Howard and Curtis. Howard and Curtis both have at least two seasons of eligibility remaining, while 2025 will be Finnessy's final year in college.

Finnessy played 160 snaps last season, earning a 61.1 PFF grade, while Howard was on the field 125 times and earned a 58.7 PFF grade. Both players are closer to true edge rushers, compared to Curtis who can play on the inside.

Minnesota favors versatility, and defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III will likely have seven players in his rotation next season. Smith, Finnessy, Howard and Curtis will be joined by Deven Eastern, Jalen Logan-Redding and Rushawn Lawrence on the interior. The offseason will determine a lot about the pecking order, but Curtis is a potential wild card in the whole group.