The 2025 NFL draft is scheduled for April 24-26 in Green Bay, Wis. In the preceding weeks, the Post-Gazette is monitoring mock draft selections for the Steelers from various national outlets. Here’s a summary of where things stand this week:
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA Today
The pick: Derrick Harmon, Oregon DT
What they’re saying: “The quarterback situation is still tenuous, with a retreat to Russell Wilson seemingly the only door open if the Rodgers pursuit falls through. But so long as Pittsburgh can reach a point of comfort behind center, it could be drawn to Harmon, whose penchant for pushing the pocket would fortify a front that has been propped up almost entirely by Cameron Heyward.”
PG reaction: Harmon is a name that’s been on the radar locally for weeks, but this is the first national mock draft pick we’ve seen for him in this evaluation season. Probably not a coincidence it comes after the acquisition of DK Metcalf, which figures to diminish the receiver picks in mock drafts in the weeks to come. The thing that stands out about Harmon is indeed the pass-rushing skills. He led all interior defensive linemen in college football last season with 55 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Just five of those pressures resulted in a sack, but that’s perfectly OK if you’re general manager Omar Khan and the Steelers. The defense was not able to unlock T.J. Watt and the outside pass rush as much this past season because generating interior pressure was an issue, allowing opposing offensive lines to devote more of their attention to Watt. If Harmon is the pick and can replicate the type of success he had at Oregon, it should give Watt and Alex Highsmith more opportunities to get home.
Josh Edwards, CBS
Steve Serby, New York Post
The pick: Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss QB
What they’re saying: “As of writing this, Pittsburgh has no answer at the quarterback position. They will almost certainly add some level of veteran presence, but desperation could drive them to get in front of other quarterback-needy teams in Round 1.” — Edwards
PG reaction: Justin Fields is gone to the New York Jets, Sam Darnold to the Seattle Seahawks, Daniel Jones to the Indianapolis Colts — and, with them, any hope the Steelers would find a long-term quarterback option via free agency this offseason. They might settle on Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson, but either would be a short-term play for the next year or two because of their age. So get ready for the quarterback picks to flow, even though this class appears pretty weak at the position.
Heightening the problem for the Steelers is they gave up their second-round pick in the DK Metcalf trade. So even if they, like many, question the first-round bona fides of a guy like Dart — or any other quarterback in this class not named Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders — they still may feel the need to grab him for the sake of not losing out.
Then again, the Steelers went for Kenny Pickett under similar circumstances a few years back, and we all know how that turned out. So perhaps they’ll take their medicine for 2025 and look toward the superior 2026 class with designs on grabbing their next young quarterback.
Garrett Podell, CBS
Kyle Crabbs, 33rd Team
The pick: Omarion Hampton, North Carolina RB
What they’re saying: “North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton crushed the combine and firmly established himself as the 2025 NFL Draft's RB2 behind Ashton Jeanty. He registered a 9.93 Relative Athletic Score out of a possible 10.00, which is the 14th best out of 1,909 running back prospects from 1987 to 2025.” — Podell
PG reaction: As of this writing, the Steelers have added only Kenneth Gainwell — a career backup — at the running back position via free agency. Paired with Jaylen Warren, the duo forms a serviceable backfield but not one anyone would fear. This creates a similar dilemma for the Steelers that we’re seeing at running back. The guys they like may or may not be available in the middle of the third round. So if Hampton is the guy they want to build around, they may have no choice but to take him in the first round. The counterargument would be this draft is considered to be fairly deep at the position. Quinshon Judkins, for example, is a name with national championship experience who could be available late on Day 2. With so many other needs to address, this seems like a spot where Khan could gamble with good odds he can come out of this draft with a guy people can be excited about, even if he isn’t a first-round pick.
First Published: March 14, 2025, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: March 14, 2025, 2:35 p.m.
