Daniel Jeremiah Sees ‘Double The Quantity’ Of Beginning-Caliber DTs In Draft Class In contrast To 2024
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a major want alongside the defensive position forward of the upcoming season, and fortuitously for the Black and Gold, the 2025 NFL Draft presents a really deep class with fairly a little bit of high-end expertise that would assist them deal with the necessity in an enormous method.
For NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who held a pre-NFL Scouting Mix convention name over Zoom on Thursday afternoon, he has double the quantity of starting-caliber defensive tackles on this draft class in comparison with the 2024 class. That earlier class produced the likes of inside defensive lineman Braden Fisk, Byron Murphy II, Johnny Newton, T’Vondre Sweat, and move rushers Jared Verse, Jaylx Hunt, Laiatu Latu, Dallas Turner and Jonah Ellis.
This defensive position draft class has been praised for months, and after watching the Philadelphia Eagles dominate the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs in Tremendous Bowl LIX behind the defensive position, the emphasis is being positioned on constructing by means of the trenches much more so.
That bodes very nicely for the Steelers, who sit at No. 21 within the 2025 NFL Draft and must infuse some youth and upside within the trenches subsequent to Cameron Heyward. Larry Ogunjobi is a possible reduce candidate for the Steelers this offseason, whereas Keeanu Benton is coming off an up-and-down second season.
A reputation like Michigan DT Kenneth Grant is match for the Steelers, in line with Jeremiah.
One different identify that has been persistently related to the Steelers is Oregon’s Derrick Harmon, significantly within the first spherical. The Oregon product who had an enormous yr in 2024 after transferring from Michigan State initiatives as a super match within the trenches for the Black and Gold, both at nostril sort out or defensive finish.
Harmon completed his remaining season together with his greatest manufacturing of his profession, recording 45 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and a pair of compelled fumbles. Most significantly, in terms of Harmon’s projection to the NFL and specifically the Steelers, he performed within the Geese’ 3-4 system, creating a better projection to the Steelers’ scheme paying homage to the Wisconsin pipeline protection the franchise has dipped into over time.
“Harmon’s simply actually disruptive. He’s bought fast palms. He simply lives on the opposite aspect of the road of scrimmage,” Jeremiah stated of Harmon throughout the convention name. “He’s actually instinctive, he’s conscious. He is aware of the place blocks are coming from and he will get up the sector.
“So he’s a enjoyable, enjoyable participant. I wanna see him use energy slightly bit extra. He flashes it, it’s all in there. However I’d like to see him play into his energy slightly bit extra. However I feel he’s backside one, high of two sort choose.”
Jeremiah, for what it’s value, could be very excessive on Harmon, and believes he’s a back-end of Spherical One or high of Spherical Two expertise within the trenches. Actually, one NFL government instructed Jeremiah again in January that he sees Harmon as a Steeler or Raven as a result of play fashion and dimension.
It wasn’t simply Harmon who Jeremiah spoke extremely of within the trenches defensively. Twice throughout the convention name, Jeremiah name-dropped Ole Miss defensive sort out JJ Pegues as an intriguing participant and certainly one of his favourite tape research throughout this cycle.
“Defensively, I discussed [JJ] Pegues for all of the various things he can do,” Jeremiah stated of Pegues and the depth of the defensive position within the draft class. “He’s somebody who on the defensive aspect of the ball is a defensive sort out who from time to time will kick out and simply be an enormous, large edge rusher. However then on offense, he’s a Wildcat quarterback.
“He’s an H-back, he’s a wing, he runs the ball. That’s one of many extra enjoyable, versatile items on this yr’s draft.”
With how deep and gifted the defensive position class is, the Steelers theoretically may double-dip at a significant place of want. It will replenish the place group in an enormous method by means of the draft, very similar to they’ve finished lately like alongside the offensive line and at huge receiver.
