{"id":61572,"date":"2025-05-19T05:12:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T05:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/61572\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T05:12:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T05:12:09","slug":"ranking-the-steelers-top-five-2025-additions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/61572\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking The Steelers Top Five 2025 Additions"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a busy Pittsburgh Steelers offseason of additions and subtractions. More than 8,100 snaps to be replaced with several free agents signed, one big trade, and seven draft picks made. Even with Aaron Rodgers\u2019 situation still outstanding (and hopefully concluding soon<\/a>), the team has added several new faces expected to make immediate and impact roles.<\/p>\n

Below is a ranking of the five additions Pittsburgh made this year to impact the team in the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

1. WR DK Metcalf<\/p>\n

Without question, Metcalf is the number one name on the list. One of the NFL\u2019s freakiest athletes, he\u2019s everything the Pittsburgh Steelers want in a No. 1 receiver. Big, strong, dynamic, physical, and a fierce blocker. A true needle mover and game changer, it\u2019s fair to question what Pittsburgh can offer opposite him to away heat and attention. But in a vacuum, it was a massively positive move.<\/p>\n

Costly as he was, a 2025 second-round pick and $150 million contract, Metcalf is a splash move who will help in the short and long term.<\/p>\n

2. DL Derrick Harmon<\/p>\n

The Steelers\u2019 first-round pick in 2025, Harmon profiles like a classic Pittsburgh defensive end. Big and long, his upside is that of an elite run defender and a very good pass rusher. Comparisons to Cam Heyward are valid, even if Harmon has to clean up parts of his game and arguably isn\u2019t the finished product Heyward was coming out of Ohio State. Still, Harmon is only 21 and enjoyed a breakout 2024 season. The ceiling is high, and he\u2019ll have an immediate impact on a defensive line in need of a marquee addition.<\/p>\n

If and when Aaron Rodgers signs, he would take this slot with Harmon and the rest bumped down a rung.<\/p>\n

3. CB Darius Slay<\/p>\n

Slay isn\u2019t in Pittsburgh for a long time, but he\u2019ll hopefully have a strong single season with the Steelers. Most cornerbacks are long gone by the time they\u2019re 34 but Slay has proven he can still play at a starter-quality level. His athletic skills may have waned but his veteran savvy and natural ball skills are still impressive, making impact plays during the Eagles\u2019 2024 Super Bowl run.<\/p>\n

Slay will step in as the team\u2019s No. 2 corner and should outperform what Donte Jackson, Levi Wallace, and Patrick Peterson offered in recent years. He\u2019ll also serve as a mentor to Joey Porter Jr., something invaluable for a guy like Porter entering a key third season.<\/p>\n

4. RB Kaleb Johnson<\/p>\n

Stepping into Najee Harris\u2019 shoes, Johnson will see immediate work. He\u2019ll likely play on early downs that asks less from him as a receiver and blocker. But if he can produce big plays in the running game, the Steelers will be happy with their ROI. Snagging Johnson in the third round is excellent value and he has a chance to be one of the NFL\u2019s most productive rookie backs, especially knowing his strong system fit under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.<\/p>\n

Rushing for 1,000 yards is a stretch but a 700-yard campaign is attainable.<\/p>\n

5. QB Mason Rudolph<\/p>\n

There remains a good chance Rudolph doesn\u2019t start and hardly sees the field this season, meaning his 2025 impact could be minimal. But even if Aaron Rodgers comes in to take the No. 1 job, adding Rudolph remains a smart and shrewd addition. Every team needs a competent No. 2 quarterback who can come off the bench in a pinch, be it mid-game or spot starting due to a short-term injury. In a year that saw the entire quarterback room turned out, it\u2019s nice to bring in an organizationally familiar face like his, even if he\u2019s new to Arthur Smith.<\/p>\n

Rudolph will run an NFL offense exactly the way a coach wants it and he\u2019s been comfortable being called on in a moment\u2019s notice. Coaches sleep better at night when a guy like Rudolph is the backup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been a busy Pittsburgh Steelers offseason of additions and subtractions. More than 8,100 snaps to be replaced…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[9313,340,2870,7,274,560,6,520,57,2360,426,691],"class_list":{"0":"post-61572","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-darius-slay","9":"tag-derrick-harmon","10":"tag-dk-metcalf","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-kaleb-johnson","13":"tag-mason-rudolph","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-pittsburgh","16":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","17":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","18":"tag-steelers","19":"tag-trending"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114532787498688605","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61572","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=61572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}