Derrick Harmon might not be making many headlines, but the Steelers are shouting his praises—with their inside voices. Pittsburgh’s first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Harmon is an “unsexy” selection as an interior defensive lineman. At such a position, it’s also harder to show up much in practice, especially without pads. But according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, they are noticing him in a big way.

“I’ll tell you who’s buzzing about it quietly and internally, are those coaches”, Dulac said of the Steelers’ reaction to Derrick Harmon so far, on 102.5 WDVE. “They love this guy. [From] what they have seen, they’re thinking this pick is a home run. Now, we’ll see how it plays out, but [from] what they’ve seen so far, they think he’s terrific, and gonna be terrific”.

The Steelers drafted Harmon after releasing three-year starter Larry Ogunjobi, viewing him as a future building block. Though Cameron Heyward played at an All-Pro level last year, he will retire eventually. Chances are, if Harmon is nearly done playing when Heyward is, that’s bad news.

So any good news on Harmon is welcome right now, and the Steelers, according to Dulac, are impressed with his work in practice so far. “He has been very, very good. If you watch him, if you can see him in drills, he’s a lot to handle”, he said. “And they don’t want to go overboard, but they are thrilled with this guy”.

Harmon admitted that he had to adjust to NFL speed initially at training camp, but he is catching on quickly. During yesterday’s practice, the Steelers broke out a four-DL package with him in it at the goal line. He played on the edge, with Keeanu Benton and Yahya Black in the middle.

For his part, Heyward said he feels responsible for ensuring Derrick Harmon’s development. After the Steelers drafted Heyward, he learned under Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel, and Casey Hampton. Heyward is the only such veteran right now but is arguably better than all of them.

Dulac mentioned that one thing the Steelers are excited about is his pass-rush potential. They really want to boost their interior rush, and having another blue-chip player in that area of their defense could make a real difference. That is one of the big reasons the Steelers drafted Derrick Harmon, as he showed that in college.

Saturday will mark his first real test, the Steelers opening their preseason schedule against the Jacksonville Jaguars. You can be sure Derrick Harmon will play a lot, even though they have already positioned him to start. While they believe he is already one of their top defensive linemen, he still needs the live-fire experience.