Giving up 299 rushing yards to the Baltimore Ravens is a painful thought that sticks with you. When it came time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to put together their 2025 draft class, that Wild Card loss still seemed top of mind. Just as the 2024 class focused on improving the offensive line and running game, the 2025 edition put the focus on the other side of the trenches. Beef up the front seven in an effort to stop the run.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just about the Ravens game, of course. The Steelers\u2019 defensive line was thin and aging, Cam Heyward still running strong but about to turn 36. Pittsburgh wore down in the trenches.<\/p>\n
Maybe it wasn\u2019t always directly shown in rushing yards. Baltimore game aside, the other performances weren\u2019t statistically egregious. But Pittsburgh\u2019s five-game losing streak to end the 2024 season largely centered on looking tired in the trenches. At least the offensive line had the excuse of its youth, hitting a rookie wall. The defense just splatted. Pittsburgh didn\u2019t win at the point of attack, didn\u2019t control the line of scrimmage, and offenses set the tone. That\u2019s not Steelers football.<\/p>\n
Free agency didn\u2019t bring any big swings though Daniel Ekuale is a sturdy run-stuffer<\/a> who should function as capable depth. But the draft brought big reinforcements. Oregon DL Derrick Harmon was the Steelers\u2019 prize, a player the organization wasn\u2019t going to trade away from with its pick at No. 21. The first defensive lineman Pittsburgh\u2019s taken in the first round since Cam Heyward. A move that was overdue.<\/p>\n The team didn\u2019t stop there. Ohio State EDGE Jack Sawyer came in the fourth round, the team\u2019s third selection of the draft. Outside linebacker may not have felt like a need but Pittsburgh needs strong depth top to bottom. Too often neglected by Kevin Colbert, Omar Khan is keeping the OLB shelves stocked.<\/p>\n After a minor fifth-round trade down, Pittsburgh went back to the d-line well in big Iowa DL Yahya Black. Though the profile of a nose tackle at 334 pounds, the Steelers sound confident in his ability to play defensive end. Even inside linebacker got run-stopping acquisitions in Malik Harrison and rookie Carson Bruener, though keeping Elandon Roberts<\/a> still would\u2019ve been preferred.<\/p>\n That\u2019s four defensive linemen and one outside linebacker added since the start of free agency. On top of re-signing Isaiahh Loudermilk and getting back a healthy Logan Lee, who missed all of 2024 with injury, the Steelers are throwing everything at their front seven in order to improve. It\u2019s how the defense is built. Stop the run. Earn the right to rush the passer. Create sacks and turnovers.<\/p>\n There\u2019s intent and focus. See a problem and solve it. Maybe that means passing on adding another receiver \u2013 it was a weak class, anyway \u2013 0r a safety. Try to add everything and you add nothing.<\/p>\n Harmon\u2019s still the big piece. Pittsburgh has to develop him and hope he truly is baby Cam Heyward. If he can\u2019t become a quality starter, the rest of the additions won\u2019t make up for it.<\/p>\n