Joel Klatt labels Pittsburgh Steelers as one of biggest winners of 2025 NFL Draft

The moment the 2025 NFL Draft was over, grading began. FOX’s Joel Klatt was no different, giving out three teams he thought were winners from Green Bay. One of them was the Pittsburgh Steelers, mainly for what they did outside the first round.

But Klatt did begin with who Pittsburgh took at No. 21 overall. Defensive tackle is becoming more and more important in the NFL. The Steelers picked up a pretty good one in his opinion, snagging Derrick Harmon out of Oregon.

“I thought Pittsburgh had a good draft,” Klatt said. “They didn’t have a second round pick but they did well with what they had. When you look at what they were able to get, Derrick Harmon at 21… I think Harmon, as a player, fabulous. He’s disruptive, he’s big, and he’s exactly a Pittsburgh-style guy.”

Harmon played just one season with the Ducks after beginning his career in East Lansing with Michigan State. Playing for Dan Lanning paid off in a big way, recording 45 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, and five sacks. All of those are career highs in a four-year stint.

Pittsburgh will plug and play Harmon right away, something all 32 teams expect from first-round selections. It’s what general manager Omar Khan did on Friday and Saturday — even without a pick in the second round — that really caught his attention.

“They get Kaleb Johnson,” Klatt said. “If you could name a running back and an organization that was the best fit — probably because he was wearing the colors in college. But Kaleb Johnson from Iowa going to Pittsburgh was a phenomenal selection.

“And then they get Jack Sawyer in the fourth. I think that’s good value. You saw what he did in the playoffs. Strip sack of Quinn Ewers, goes for a touchdown. Sawyer is tremendous and a terrific locker room guy. And then in the sixth, Will Howard.”

Two of those guys won a national championship with Ohio State this past season. Both were big-time leaders on their respective sides of the ball along the way. And then Johnson led the Big Ten in rushing yards at 1,537 and touchdowns with 21.

Exactly how the Steelers fared will not be known until the 2025 season gets underway — maybe even long. On paper, though, Klatt is a fan of what they were able to do. Everyone in Pittsburgh hopes multiple franchise staples are set to be in the class.