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What Steelers Are Getting in Derrick Harmon

A closer look at the Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick - defensive tackle Derrick Harmon.

Kevin Sinclair

Oregon Ducks defensive lineman Derrick Harmon forces a fumble from Idaho Vandals quarterback Jack Layne as the Oregon Ducks host the Idaho Vandals on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.
Oregon Ducks defensive lineman Derrick Harmon forces a fumble from Idaho Vandals quarterback Jack Layne as the Oregon Ducks host the Idaho Vandals on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Pittsburgh Steelers fortified the defensive line tonight, spending the No. 21 overall draft selection on 6-foot-4, 313-pound behemoth Derrick Harmon.

The Oregon Duck was regarded by The Athletic as best defensive tackle in the 2025 NFL Draft outside of Michigan's Mason Graham - selected fifth overall by the Browns - per Dane Brugler's impressive The Beast database.

When it comes to interior defensive linemen tipping the scales well over the 300 mark in recent drafts, Harmon is armed with first-step quickness that few can rival. With that elite get-off, despite what his stature may suggest, Harmon is no one-gap interior defender.

No, sir.

The former Michigan State Spartan (2021-2023) led college football with 55 quarterback hurries last season. With that burst off the snap, Harmon can attack multiple gaps from a variety of techniques upfront, a unique level of position flexibility for an athlete with his size. Nearing 320 pounds, he proved to have speed beyond his admired first step, clocking a solid 5.0 40-yard dash at the combine.

An ideal middle man in the Oregon defense that often operated out of a 3-4 front, Harmon converted his special tools into 10.5 tackles for loss and five sacks alongside 45 total tackles in 2024.

He's strong as a bull, regularly overwhelming solid offensive linemen in recent years. Harmons is quick-triggered with more overall speed than most anticipate, catching opponents off guard. And you can't summarize his pass rush moves and polished attacks at his fingertips by describing a handful of techniques.

Harmon has far more ways of beating blocks than most interior defensive linemen, including the best from coast to coast.

He's as efficient and consistent in executing baseline moves, like the rip, swim, and bullrush. What takes Harmon to a sky-high level is the various attacks and counters he combines with a number of moves, including his bull rush.

It makes for a defensive lineman who is both very challenging to contain in terms of his sheer size, power, strong will, and outright violence, but is also difficult to gameplan for given the wide range of weapons he's ready and very capable of wielding to his advantage.

The first-rounder sure seems like the ideal apprentice to work alongside Cam Heyward, right?

Many have expressed as much in the lead-up to Day One of the 2025 NFL Draft.

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Kevin Sinclair
KEVIN SINCLAIR

Kevin Sinclair writes coverage of the Pitt Panthers along with the Baltimore Ravens, the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Tennessee Titans for On SI. Previously, he was a recruiting reporter and managing editor at Irish Illustrated, the privately-owned Notre Dame site within the 247Sports Network, for over seven-and-a-half years. Kevin studied multimedia journalism and has been a sports writer for nearly a decade.

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