Pro Football Focus goes to great lengths to grade and evaluate every player and positional unit in the NFL. Their latest rankings focus on the defensive line. The Pittsburgh Steelers have always prided themselves on having one of the best units in the league, and PFF agrees. These rankings do have one caveat that critics want to exploit and this is what positions are included. PFF allows the Steelers’ outside linebackers to be part of the equation, which completely changes the evaluation.
PFF ranked the Steelers’ defensive line No. 1 in the NFL, which includes Cameron Heyward, Keeanu Benton, Derrick Harmon, T.J. Watt, and Alex Highsmith. Here’s what they had to say about this group:
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Led by edge defender T.J. Watt and interior defender Cameron Heyward, the Steelers’ defensive line continues to be the best in the NFL. Two Pittsburgh players were among the 30 highest-graded interior defenders, and three ranked in the top 20 among edge defenders last season.
Heyward’s 90.1 PFF overall grade ranked second at his position, while Watt’s 91.7 mark was the third highest among edge defenders. The Steelers even selected interior defender Derrick Harmon with their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, further bolstering an elite unit.
This group got better in the offseason with the rookie Harmon coming in to replace Larry Ogunjobi. This also doesn’t take into consideration the Steelers depth, particularly at edge rusher and nose tackle. On defense, the Steelers are going to be as good as this group can be.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: PFF ranks Steelers defensive line tops in the NFL