After months of prepping, mock drafts, combines, and Pro Days, the 2025 NFL draft has come and gone.  That means it is time for the Steelers Sanctuary way too early Steelers draft grades for 2025.  It takes years to truly evaluate a team’s draft haul.  Players can look tremendous in their first year, then fizzle out as their career’s move along. (See Chase Claypool).  The opposite is also true.  It takes some players longer to hit their stride in the NFL.  In this post we will give our initial reaction based on our rankings to give out our Steelers draft grades:

Round 1: Derrick Harmon DT Oregon (B-)

Grading on the player alone, this selection is probably an A.  Derrick Harmon is the prototype for what the Steelers look for in a defensive tackle.  At 6’4”, 305lbs, and 35” arms Harmon fits exactly what the Steelers look for at that position.  He is coming off a breakout season at Oregon with 55 pressures, 11 TFLs, and 5 sacks.  This is a player with great character as well so there isn’t much not to like here.

The downside to this selection is the Steelers almost certainly turned their backs on a tremendous trade opportunity.  The Atlanta Falcons traded a future first round pick to the Rams to get back into the first round.  That trade had to be available to the Steelers as well.  Unfortunately they were quoted as saying Derrick Harmon was too good a player to trade off of.  Derrick Harmon certainly has the potential to become a very good player.  Not so good to turn down a future first round pick however.  For this reason, the Steelers get a B-.

Round 2: Kaleb Johnson RB Iowa (A)

I told  you in our final mock draft that MIke Tomlin had a type at running back.  I wasn’t buying for a second this team was going to take one of the smaller backs they wanted us to believe they were interested in.  In that mock I had the Steelers taking Ollie Gordon. Thankfully Kaleb Johnson fell all the way to the third round, sparing us any chance of the Gordon pick. Steelers mock draft 4.0: The final one!

Kaleb Johnson is the best of both worlds.  He is the big back (224lbs) that Tomlin loves, with enough athleticism to keep us offense hungry fans entertained.  The knock on Johnson was his very pedestrian forty time.  He ran a 4.57 at the NFL combine which is concerning for the position.  Watch his tape, and you see a very different story.  Kaleb Johnson is seen running away from defenders quite often indicating he is much faster than his forty shows.  This is a home run selection for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Expect Kaleb Johnson to be RB1 but the midway point of the season.

Round 3: Jack Sawyer EDGE Ohio St. (C-)

Welcome to the “we got our asses kicked by the Ravens” portion of the Steelers draft.  Actually this started with the Harmon pick, and went on from there.  This selection is a real head scratcher.  Pittsburgh did not have a need at edge.  In fact, you could argue it is one of the deepest positions on the team.  Then there’s the fact that Sawyer is an average athlete with extremely short arms for the position.  What this comes down to is that Jack Sawyer is a big, physical run defender drafted specifically with the Ravens in mind.

Round 4: Yahya Black DT Iowa (C+)

The Pittsburgh Steelers gave up 300 rushing yards to the Baltimore Ravens on their way to getting blown out of the playoffs.  Mike Tomlin apparently has not had a good night sleep since.  Yahya Black is a massive (6’6”, 336lbs) defensive tackle who helps ensure that result does not happen again.  At the end of the day if Black gets Keeanu Benton of the nose, and back to his rightful spot as defensive end, this pick becomes well worth it.

Round 5: Will Howard QB Ohio St. (B+)

I actually really like the Will Howard selection, particularly where they got him.  Howard is a big, athletic quarterback who is coming off quite the run to the National Championship.  If the stories are true that Ohio St. coach Ryan Day fixed some of the footwork issues that unlocked Howard to become a big time quarterback, then the Steelers may have quite the steal here.  Definitely a worthwhile dart throw in the fifth round.

Round 6: Carson Bruener LB Washington (C-)

The Steelers are really stuck on this family lineage thing.  Carson Bruner is of course the son of former Stelelers tight end Mark Bruener.  Pittsburgh didn’t really have a need at linebacker, and reached for one at that.  Having said that, Bruener probably becomes a core special teamer for years to come salvaging this pick in the end.

Round 7: Donte Kent CB Central Michigan (B+)

The Steelers finally remembered their absolute lack of depth in the secondary, albeit in the seventh round.  Donte Kent is a pretty good choice to take a shot at this deep in the draft.  He reportedly ran in the 4.3s, and is primarily a slot corner.  That is a position of need with this team.  He did only have 2 career interceptions, and gave up several big plays his college career.  Keep expectations tempered here, and hope for the best.

Overall Grade – B-

If we’re giving out Steelers draft grades specifically to beat the Ravens, this is an A+.  Unfortunately for the Steelers there are 30 other teams in the league.  It’s not so much the overall draft I have a problem with, it’s the Steelers philosophy in general.  Their determination to win games using an outdated style of playing football is extremely frustrating.  This is a decent haul in a vacuum.  Whether or not it gets them any closer to being a Super Bowl contender any time soon is certainly debatable.

Don’t forget to check out the Steelers Sanctuary YouTube channel for our full draft grade episode here: https://www.youtube.com/live/H0-L8J-lG0c?si=uN5j9ENoj4tvWP-t