Steelers Land Massive DT, Trade Up for QB in Three-Round Mock Draft
In a joint three-round mock draft from ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Field Yates, the Pittsburgh Steelers landed Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon at No. 21 overall and traded up for Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe at No. 68.
Yates had the Steelers addressing the defensive line with Harmon in the first round.
“Harmon led all FBS players in pressures from a DT alignment last season (34). And while the defensive line is strong in Pittsburgh, the roster could start looking to the future,” Yates wrote. “Cameron Heyward will be 36 this season, so I like the idea of building with Harmon and Keeanu Benton. And as for the quarterback situation, I’m holding off.
“Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are off the board. It makes sense to wait until later in the draft (and sign Aaron Rodgers).”
The Steelers brought Harmon in for a pre-draft visit. Harmon, 21, solidified himself as a first-round pick at the NFL Scouting Combine. The 6-foot-4 1/2, 313-pound defensive tackle ran an impressive 4.95-second 40-yard dash and 1.74-second 10-yard split.
He currently ranks as the No. 27 overall player on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board.
Harmon’s 2024 campaign made a strong argument that should be the case, too. Last season, he had a career-high 45 tackles (27 solo), five sacks, two forced fumbles and two passes defensed.
Before transferring to Oregon in 2024, Harmon spent three years at Michigan State, where he recorded 69 tackles (24 solo), 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble and two passes defensed.
Harmon may not only be Cam Heyward’s future replacement, but also Heyward 2.0. The Oregon product has already received several comparisons to Heyward throughout the pre-draft process.
In fact, Harmon himself revealed he’s watched Heyward for inspiration at the NFL level.
“Definitely Cam,” Harmon said. “The run, how he plays that run. If I want to watch some run tape, I’m turning on Cam Heyward.”
Kiper had the Steelers trading up from No. 83 overall to No. 68 in a move with the Las Vegas Raiders to pick Milroe.
“There’s still a good chance the Steelers sign Aaron Rodgers, but he isn’t under contract yet. They should draft a quarterback for the long term, but they might need to draft a quarterback for the short term, too. Milroe has the arm to hit DK Metcalf and George Pickens downfield, and he can take off as a runner when he gets an opening.”
NFL Network lead draft analyst and former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah is very high on Milroe. He thinks Milroe has more upside than even Miami quarterback Cam Ward, who’s projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“Talking to teams, though, if you were to use the word the phrase with him that’s used more than any other of all the quarterbacks in this draft, that’s the lottery ticket. If you want to just take a lottery ticket that you could hit huge on if it all works out and all comes together, he’s got the highest upside of anybody in this draft, and that goes all the way up to Cam Ward at No. 1,” Jeremiah said during a conference call previewing the 2025 NFL Draft.
“But he is a long way from getting there. So to me it’s a classic second round pick. You get your first pick in the bag. You feel comfortable about it. It’s a double off the wall. Now you can stop choking up and swing for the fences with Jalen Milroe. That’s how just about everybody universally views him. We’ll see where he ends up going.”
Milroe, 22, is an intriguing prospect. Over the past two seasons, he threw for 5,678 yards, 39 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,257 yards and 32 touchdowns. His 4.4 speed is unheard of for a quarterback, too.
“Rare physical talent …maybe the only quarterback who’s faster than Lamar Jackson,” Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry said about Milroe.
Jeremiah also sees some Lamar Jackson-like traits from Milroe.
“In terms of a comparison, the only thing I can say is as a runner, he’s as impressive as Lamar Jackson was as a runner coming out. Lamar was light years ahead of him in terms of the passing game at that point in time, and Lamar has continued to just improve each and every year in that department as well,” Jeremiah said.