The Pittsburgh Steelers had the best 2025 NFL Draft class in the AFC, according to Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame.
Despite passing on all the quarterbacks until the sixth round, when they landed Will Howard, Verderame believes that was the right call, and the subsequent picks they made were strong enough to rise them above the rest of the crop.
“Pittsburgh didn’t have its second-round pick because of the DK Metcalf trade and still nailed the draft. Harmon is a stud inside who should pair nicely with Cam Heyward, while Johnson will make a nasty tandem with Jaylen Warren in the backfield. Sawyer is also a good value who should thrive in Pittsburgh’s system, with no team doing a better job of coaching front-seven talents over the years,” Verderame said.
The Steelers’ NFL Draft group has received praise from most analysts, the notable exception being ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., who thinks the Steelers should have taken Shedeur Sanders or Jaxson Dart. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler noted Harmon was his favorite selection of the entire first round.
“The natural progression from Cam Heyward to a guy like this, who is just disruptive, against the run, against the pass,” Brugler said. “You can line him up in a number of different ways. We know the Steelers can get kind of funky with what they do with their defensive linemen and ask them to do. He can do so much and be disruptive doing all those different things that you feel like you’re getting a steal at this point at 21… They went with one of their top needs with a player that should made it out of the top 20.”
Harmon was flagged with a shoulder injury before the NFL Draft, which caused some teams to back off him. Ole Miss’ Walter Nolen and Michigan’s Kenneth Grant went ahead of the Oregon product, who started his collegiate career at Michigan State.
Either way, the Steelers’ seven picks seem to have earned a lot of praise from analysts around the NFL, and they hope most of those players can turn into cornerstone pieces for them moving forward.