{"id":242159,"date":"2025-07-28T07:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T07:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/242159\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T07:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T07:27:10","slug":"harmon-black-coming-on-strong-for-dl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/242159\/","title":{"rendered":"Harmon, Black Coming on Strong for DL"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steelers Analysis<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"PittsburghPittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Derrick Harmon at training camp on July 25, 2025. — Ed Thompson \/ Steelers Now\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

UNITY TWP., Pa. \u2014 On one hand, it\u2019s hard not to notice what Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Derrick Harmon has done through the first four practices of his rookie training camp. <\/p>\n

Harmon has looked quick, physical and strong. He\u2019s made plays in the backfield, pressured the quarterback, dominated offensive linemen with his physicality, and generally been the best Steelers defensive lineman on the field, outside of Cam Heyward.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, it\u2019s been four practices \u2014 and none of them in pads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big man game is played in pads, and I\u2019m looking forward to seeing him and others under those circumstances,\u201d head coach Mike Tomlin said. \u201cNot to discount what he\u2019s done, but that\u2019s such a major component of his job description.\u201d<\/p>\n

But still, everyone I\u2019ve talked to in Latrobe has gushed about the play of No. 99 so far. The so far is key. It\u2019s a long way to go, but optimism is rising that the Steelers\u2019 first-round pick could have a very strong rookie season.<\/p>\n

\"PittsburghPittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Yahya Black at training camp on July 25, 2025. \u2014 Ed Thompson \/ Steelers Now <\/p>\n

His running mate hasn\u2019t been shabby, either. Fifth-rounder Yahya Black sparked some on Saturday with some physicality, knocking back an offensive lineman with a big swat. On Sunday, he used that swat to batter two Mason Rudolph passes. Black is not an elite pass-rusher, but with his huge frame, that\u2019s an effective way for him to improve his usefulness in this area of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that we really value culturally,\u201d Tomlin said. \u201cI think Cam probably led all interior d-linemen in the league last year. [Keeanu} Benton was also very high. We work at it. He has an aptitude for it, and hopefully it continues and even more so.\u201d<\/p>\n

LET DYLAN COOK?<\/p>\n

\"PittsburghPittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Dylan Cook during a preseason game on Aug. 9, 2024. \u2014 Ed Thompson \/ Steelers Now<\/p>\n

Left tackle Broderick Jones<\/a> has been dealing with a lower-body soft-tissue injury, and it significantly limited him in practice on Sunday. Trainers put an extensive wrap around the right side of his hip\/groin area after individual drills on Sunday, causing him to miss the first rep of seven shots.<\/p>\n

Jones returned for the rest of the first-team reps in seven shots, but did not participate in any of the rest of practice. Tomlin said after practice that he can be characterized as day to day.<\/p>\n

Calvin Anderson replaced Jones for that first rep of seven shots, as he had during the 2024 seasons. With Anderson returning on a two-year contract, it seemed likely that the veteran was in line to be the team\u2019s swing backup tackle \u2014 or at least the backup at left tackle, where 710 of his career 937 snaps have come.<\/p>\n

But after that first period, it was fourth-year tackle Dylan Cook that filled in for Jones with the first team the rest of the way. Cook joined the Steelers in 2023, having spent his rookie season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A future contract signee in January, he surprisingly made the team that August and spent all of 2023 on the active roster, though he was dressed for just one game, and did not play a snap.<\/p>\n

Despite that, it seemed that the Steelers liked Cook and were grooming him for a future backup role. But things fell apart in 2024. Last year, a late preseason injury caused him to be placed on the injured reserve list before the start of the regular season. He was waived from the injured reserve in late October and added to the team\u2019s practice squad, where he spent the remainder of the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

So Cook entered this season appearing to be a solid fourth on the depth chart at tackle, behind Jones, Troy Fautanu and Anderson. With there being no guarantee of four tackles making the 53-man roster, that put Cook squarely on the roster bubble. But his presence at left tackle on Sunday suggested that may not be the case, and the team still sees something they want to develop in the 27-year-old former college quarterback.<\/a><\/p>\n

Tomlin, true to form, isn\u2019t ready to crown anyone on July 27. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just acclimating,\u201d he said. \u201cCertainly, he\u2019s a veteran guy that\u2019s been a round and has served in that capacity before but I\u2019m not assuming anything at this juncture, at this early stage of development regarding specific roles and specialization.\u201d<\/p>\n

ECHOLS BRINGS THE ENERGY<\/p>\n

One of the louder voices throughout training camp has been new Steelers cornerback Brandon Echols. The veteran defensive back has brought the energy \u2014 and the smack talk \u2014 every practice session so far, and shows no sign of letting up.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s backing up that talk with solid play, as well. He and Cory Trice have both excelled with the second team at outside cornerback, and they seem to be locked into a battle for that No. 4 CB job behind starters Joey Porter Jr., Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay. <\/p>\n

Echols had an interception in seven shots on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like Echols a lot,\u201d Tomlin said. \u201cHe\u2019s a hard-working guy. He\u2019s a professional certainly. We\u2019ve competed against him in the past, not only as a defender, but as a core teamer. That\u2019s a veteran guy that brings that energy every day. He\u2019s made some plays, and it\u2019s reasonable to expect that to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

UDFA VS UDFA<\/p>\n

One of everyone\u2019s favorite training camp pastimes is to latch on to an undrafted free agent long shot to make the team. Two of the most popular this year have been wide receiver Roc Taylor and safety Sebastian Castro. They went head to head a bunch on Sunday, and Taylor won the day with three big plays on dig routes over the middle of the field.<\/p>\n

Taylor is a big body that is always a threat to go deep. He\u2019s turned that into leverage for cutting off routes and finding soft spots in the middle of the field.<\/p>\n

SEVEN SHOTS<\/p>\n

The defense won for the second straight day, with all three seven shots of training camp so far going down to the last rep.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 Aaron Rodgers found Jonnu Smith on an out route to the right side of the formation. He was wide open thanks to a busted coverage. Joey Porter Jr. was the closest defender, but it didn\u2019t look like he expected to carry Smith to the outside.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 Rodgers tried another out route to the left side, but Juan Thornhill made a great play to get all the way over the to the sideline from his safety alignment and break up the pass intended for DK Metcalf.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 Troy Fautanu false started before the third rep. Tomlin let the offense stay at the two-yard line instead of pushing them back. Rodgers hit Pat Freiermuth with a little pop pass right behind the line for an easy score.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 With the second team in the game, Max Hurleman lined up at tailback and ran an angle route to the left side. He beat Darius Slay to the flat, but couldn\u2019t hang on to Mason Rudolph\u2019s pass.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 Rudolph skied a ball, looking for Darnell Washington on the left side, but Brandin Echols went up and got it for an interception. He then performed a humping-the-ground celebration that probably needed to be seen to be fully understood.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 With Will Howard under center, Evan Hull ran a rub route to the right side, catching Cole Holcomb up in the wash for a walk-in touchdown.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 The first teams came back onto the field. The offense had trips to the right, Rodgers made his initial read to the left, but couldn\u2019t find anyone open. He came back to the right and threw to Roman Wilson in the back of the end zone, but DeShon Elliott had him locked down.<\/p>\n

The defense has won two and lost one through three seven shots periods so far this year.<\/p>\n

INJURY UPDATES<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 OLB Jeremiah Moon<\/a> did not practice after leaving Saturday\u2019s session on a cart. He is being evaluated for a calf injury.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 TE DJ Thomas-Jones<\/a> left the practice field on a cart after suffering a left ankle\/calf injury during a team period. Tomlin called his injury significant, but said he is still being evaluated. The Steelers have only five tight ends on the active roster, with fellow UDFA JJ Galbreath getting significant additional reps on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 S Quindell Johnson was a limited participant in practice, taking individual drills and working off to the side in team periods. <\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8\u00a0LG Isaac Seumalo missed his fourth consecutive practice while on the non-football injury list with an undisclosed soft tissue injury. Spencer Anderson again moved up to the first team at left guard.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 TE Jonnu Smith was a full participant in practice for the second straight day.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 RB\/KR Cordarrelle Patterson (undisclosed) did not practice for the fourth straight day.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 C Ryan McCollum has been limited in action with an unknown ailment.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 WR Montana Lemonious-Craig was unable to finish practice with a lower-body soft tissue injury and is considered day to day.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 OLB T.J. Watt, DT Cam Heyward and CB Darius Slay all returned after being given the day off on Saturday.<\/p>\n

NOTES FROM TEAM PERIODS<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 In addition to the false start in seven shots, Troy Fautanu got absolutely dog-walked by T.J. Watt on one rep. That\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 Kenneth Gainwell caught a shovel pass on a nifty little play-action look I haven\u2019t seen before from Arthur Smith. Jack Sawyer and Jalen Ramsey weren\u2019t fooled, though, and smothered it. The Steelers ran a lot of play action on Sunday, to mixed results. Miles Killebrew had an unlocked sack of Mason Rudolph one rep. Rudolph hit a big gainer to Brandon Johnson on the final play before the practice was called due to thunderstorms ion the area. On the whole, it probably makes the play action a lot more believable when there\u2019s more than a handful of running calls per day.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8\u00a0In a 7-on-7 period, Rodgers might\u2019ve made his best throw of training camp, fitting a slant into Metcalf with Slay all over him in trail coverage and a safety crashing down. The ball arrived in such a tight window that it sprung Metcalf upfield and could have been a big gain.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8 Kaleb Johnson<\/a> knows he needs to get better at pass protection, our Joe Fitzgerald wrote on Sunday. But he could also use to work on his hands. He dropped an easy one from Howard in 7-on-7.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc8\u00a0Jalen Ramsey had a fantastic defensive play that won\u2019t find the stat sheet. The offense ran Kenneth Gainwell to the right flat and Pat Freiermuth on a flag route right in front of him. The pass from Rodgers went to Gainwell, and he took off upfield untouched with Freiermuth ahead of him as a lead blocker. Ramsey was the only defender at the point of attack, and he took on Freiermuth, forced Gainwell to the sideline, and gave the rest of the defense time to get over and make the play. What could have been an easy 20-yard gain settled for less than 10.<\/p>\n

FIGHT!<\/p>\n

Cole Holcomb and Ryan McCollum got into the middle of the biggest scrap of training camp so far.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pittsburgh Steelers center Ryan McCollum and linebackers Nick Herbig and Cole Holcomb are in the center of a scrap at training camp on July 27, 2025. \u2014 Ed Thompson \/ Steeler Now
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned In This Article: Broderick Jones<\/a> Derrick Harmon<\/a> Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> Steelers<\/a> Steelers Training Camp<\/a> top<\/a> Yahya Black<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Steelers Analysis Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Derrick Harmon at training camp on July 25, 2025. — Ed Thompson…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[465,340,7,6,520,57,2360,426,26586,3444,2085],"class_list":{"0":"post-242159","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-broderick-jones","9":"tag-derrick-harmon","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-pittsburgh","13":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","14":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","15":"tag-steelers","16":"tag-steelers-training-camp","17":"tag-top","18":"tag-yahya-black"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114929680060961432","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}