Black, 23, finished his career at Iowa with 117 career tackles, including 14 for a loss, and 5.5 sacks. He also had three forced fumbles and 10 pass defenses.
Black arrived at Iowa as a 250-pound defensive lineman and continued to build on his size and strength. He carries his 336 pounds well and has extraordinary strength. Black started the past 27 games at Iowa, averaging 44 defensive snaps per game.
The Steelers envision playing more of a defensive rotation up front to lessen the load on Heyward, who played 70 percent of their defensive snaps in 2024 at 35 years old.
He’ll figure into the mix in what is now an extremely deep defensive line group that includes Heyward, Harmon, nose tackle Keenu Benton, Black’s former Iowa teammate Logan Lee, a sixth-round pick last season, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Montravius Adams, Dean Lowry and free agent signings Daniel Ekuale and Esezi Otomewo.
The Steelers typically keep six to seven defensive linemen on their roster, making their newly reconfigured defensive line room one of the most competitive on the roster.
With his length and long arms (35 inches at the NFL Scouting Combine), Black also was utilized by Iowa on field goal and PAT blocking units.