Draft Class Buzz: Physicality,Explosiveness,’Steelers DNA’ was prioritized from Tomlin/Khan

2025 Draft Class	Player	Buzz
Round 1 (21st Overall)	DL Derrick Harmon (Oregon)	“He has Steelers DNA. “For us it starts inside and up front. This is a guy that is capable of dominating that space versus the run and the pass. We are excited about having him. Really excited about getting him in here and getting started. There is no substitute for young talent. You don’t have a chance to build a quality defense unless you are stout inside and up front. This is a guy that has an opportunity to learn from the likes of Cam Heyward and put his hand in the pile and be a significant contributor for us for years to come.” — HC Mike Tomlin
Round 3 (83rd Overall)	RB Kaleb Johnson (Iowa)	“Perfect fit regardless of whatever run scheme you’re running. He ran multiple at Iowa. Really impressive as a volume runner as the game went on, and one of the more impressive stats you’ve seen is the fourth quarter — what he averaged in the fourth quarter. I believe it was over five yards per carry. Might have been closer to six.” — OC Arthur Smith
Round 4 (123rd Overall)	OLB Jack Sawyer	“This guy is really good, tough. Unbelievable intangibles. Football character. He also has a knack for making plays when you need. You see him make a lot of big plays at crunch. It tells me he is a guy who is going to show up when you need him. Unbelievable across the board. No holes about who he is and what he is about. I think he will fit in nicely in our room. When you have a guy who has all of the qualities he has, and the intangibles, and winning attitude, those things are hard to pass up.” –– DC Teryl Austin –
Round 5 (164th Overall)	DL Yahya Black (Iowa)	“Good physical young man, like what he brings to table in fifth round.” — DL Coach Karl Dunbar
Round 6 (185th Overall)	QB Will Howard (Ohio State)	“How he responded to that adversity at the end of their season, and the leadership and the playmaking he displayed throughout the playoffs was really attractive. And it’s really what NFL football is about.” — Mike Tomlin —
Round 7 (226th Overall)	LB Carson Bruener (Washington)	“Overall 100 tackles this year as a starting inside linebacker, displaying great instincts. In 2022, 2023 had double digit special teams tackles for his football team. It is a worth resume” — Mike Tomlin —
Round 7 (229th Overall)	CB Donte Kent (Central Michigan)	“I am a Pa. baby, and I feel like Pa. babies stay in Pa. That’s an exciting moment for me, to go play for the Steelers.” — Donte Kent who is from Harrisburg PA on being a Steeler

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City Hall Report

Every team thinks they had an A+ Draft and the Pittsburgh Steelers brass is no different.

“Can’t say enough about how the draft went for us,” said GM Omar Khan. “Really feel like we’re a better football team today than we were before the draft started Thursday. We filled several needs and I think the term was used a couple days ago about Steelers DNA. And I think when you guys get to know these guys, you’ll realize that these guys have Steelers DNA.”

From a value standpoint it’s easy to see the Steelers excitement. Derrick Harmon went about where he should have been drafted but Kaleb Johnson, Jack Sawyer and Will Howard were good to great value picks at where they went. In Johnson some saw him as a mid 40’s overall prospect, Sawyer was among the Top-70 prospects in the draft from a few draft experts and Will Howard in the sixth round was a great situation for the Steelers to attack the draft where they stuck to their board, didn’t reach for a QB by any means as Howard fell into their lap near the end of the draft.

Some critics will certainly question all this ‘Steelers DNA’ talk from Tomlin/Khan but that was the theme all week since the Derrick Harmon selection:

“I remember when I got this job, I talked about what it means to be a Steeler,” Khan said.. “And, you know, I could be up here for three days talking about it. I think when you’re in this for as long as we are, you just sort of know, and that’s why the process of getting out there and getting to know the guys is so important to us. We spend a lot of time meeting with guys, and it goes more than just about who they are as a player. It’s who they are as a person, too. And you know, we get in on the road and bringing them here and the combine, you just sort of know when you’re in this. I mean, you just sort of know you get a feel for those guys. And you know, there’s, there’s times we leave these dinners or these meetings and we’re like, ‘I’m not sure.’ But there’s sometimes when you’re like, That guy, he’s one of us. You just sort of know.”

Let’s call if what is it. The Steelers put a high value on personalities/fits outside of the stadium and they were never going to take Shedeur Sanders despite the Tomlin Pre-draft Love Fest…….

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Drafting Needs/Identity

After getting steamrolled by the Baltimore Ravens twice and Philadelphia Eagles down the stretch, improving the physicality in all facets has been an off-season priority from the start.

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Best Pick: RB Kaleb Johnson | Najee Harris former college coach in legend Nick Saban compared the Steelers selection of Johnson to Najee Harris in the similarities. While Johnson has a bruising style, the Steelers will respectfully disagree on that one. There is much more finesse to Johnson’s ability in the open field and one major difference is the home run ability from Johnson who can help this team right away. “We need to get more explosive,” said OC Arthur Smith. “And this is an explosive runner and that’s where he’ll certainly help.” This is a back who had a history in college of 70+ touchdown runs, including a 75-yarder last season.”

Most Underrated Pick: LB Jack Sawyer | Inside the war room — buzz is the most excited pick among Steelers coaches, scouts was the selection of Ohio State LB Jack Sawyer as Pittsburgh once again passed on Shedeur Sanders Saturday. The group was said to be ecstatic. — “Love Jack Sawyer,” Mike Tomlin said. “It’s easy to love, not just in terms of his resume with his relationship with the game, his approach to football business, how he is viewed and received by his teammates. As Omar mentioned, a lot of these guys represent Steeler DNA and I think that’s really indicative of Jack Sawyer”

Best Story: LB Carson Bruener | Carson is the son of tight end Mark Bruener who was the Steelers first round pick in 1995 and is now a scout in the Steelers organization. What the Steelers like about Bruener is the special teams potential…….”He’s a four phase guy,” said Special Teams coach Danny Smith. “Punt, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return. He’s big, he’s fast, he’s relentless. He should be a good player for us.”

Most Intriguing Pick: QB Will Howard | What to like about this draft for Steelers is with limited picks early on, they went the direction of filling needs and things worked out where a QB they liked with a chance of having some upside was still there in Round 6. “Really impressive resume as I’ve gotten to know Will during this process,” OC Arthur Smith said. “When I got a chance to meet with him and spend some time with him at his pro day, just came away even more impress at the person that Will Howard is.” Howard turns 24 in September and he’s a mature prospect. I think we’ll see early on with him what the Steelers might have .”I just look back at his resume, the way he’s wired. Looking at Will, his maturity level, what he accomplished this year going from Kansas State and then stepping into that role at Ohio State and winning the National Championship.”