One Stat Shows How a Steelers Rookie DT Became Their Most Indispensable Lineman

Here’s a number that jumps off the page: 166 rushing yards allowed per game without Derrick Harmon. Just over 90 with him. That’s basically the difference between a bottom-five run defense and a top-10 one.

The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t get a full season out of their first-round pick in 2025. Harmon missed Week 1 and Week 2 with an MCL sprain suffered in training camp. Then he sat out three more games later in the year. But when he was on the field, he was the kind of interior presence this defense hasn’t had since Stephon Tuitt was healthy.

Mike DeFabo of The Athletic broke it down simply: Harmon’s quick hips and strong hands let him shed blocks and affect the run game in ways most rookie defensive tackles can’t. At 6-foot-4 and 313 pounds, he’s not just a space-eater. He moves.

The question is whether he can stay healthy and develop as a pass rusher. The Steelers think they know the answer.

Why the Steelers Think He Can Get Better

Harmon finished his rookie year with just three sacks. Not terrible for a first-year interior lineman, but not exactly what you want from a first-round pick either. The team has a plan for that.

Pittsburgh will have Harmon spend time this summer with new outside linebackers coach C.J. Ah You. That’s an unusual pairing — a DT working with an OLBs coach — but the idea is to add more pass-rush moves to his repertoire. Harmon already has the power. They’re trying to give him the finesse stuff too.

“For me, it was kind of tough because I haven’t been a type of guy that got injured a lot,” Harmon told Steelers.com. “And I came to the NFL, and it happened twice in my rookie year, so it’s kind of hard. But it’s part of the game, so I’ve just got to stay optimistic and really just stay on course.”

He admitted the first injury hit him harder mentally. The second time around, he tried a different approach.

“(The second) go around for me was just staying positive. The first go around, I don’t feel like I was really as positive. This one, I tried to stay as positive.”

Harmon said he kept showing up to meetings and preparing like he was going to play. It sounds simple, but that mindset isn’t automatic for a rookie who keeps getting knocked off the field.

The Bigger Picture for Pittsburgh

The Steelers are heading into what could be a farewell season for Aaron Rodgers at quarterback — or at least the end of a chapter. They’ve got questions on offense. But on defense, they’ve got a young tackle who just proved he can wreck an opponent’s running game when he’s healthy.

If Harmon adds two or three more sacks to that run-stopping ability? He might not just be a breakout candidate. He might be the anchor this defensive line needs for the next five years.