NFL analyst says one pick saved Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 draft

9 hours ago 2

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been busy this offseason, adding many talented veterans to their roster, including quarterback Justin Fields in free agency and wide receiver DK Metcalf in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks.

In recent days, Pittsburgh selected seven players to join their roster in the 2025 NFL draft, starting with Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon in the first round (No. 21 overall) and ending with Central Michigan cornerback Donte Kent in the seventh round (No. 229 overall).

While Steelers general manager Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin addressed several team needs over the course of the three-day selection meeting, not everyone is a fan of their class, including CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson.

"The last one I'll mention here, my Pittsburgh Steelers," Wilson said on the "With the First Pick" podcast. "We're living in a world where Will Howard saved this draft for me. I've come around on Derrick Harmon. If he's healthy, I'm fine with that.

"I think I talked myself into a quarterback at 21, and Harmon was a little lower for me than [Walter] Nolen and Kenneth Grant. Kaleb Johnson, I don't love, but if he's 45-percent of Le'Veon Bell, OK. Let's try to make that work. So many faster backs in this class, but fair enough, you need someone to bounce off Jaylen Warren."

When the Steelers came up on the clock in the first round, there were still plenty of quarterback options for them to consider. In fact, the only quarterback off the board at that time was Miami's Cam Ward, who went to the Tennessee Titans with the first-overall pick.

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Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart when to the New York Giants four picks after Pittsburgh's first-round selection. Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, who was projected to be a potential top-10 pick, didn't go until the fifth round.

Despite these facts, the Steelers waited to select Ohio State's Will Howard in the sixth. Howard had a phenomenal final collegiate season with the Buckeyes, completing 73% of his passes for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and leading his team to a national championship.

Pittsburgh now has Howard, Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson in their quarterback room, and they shouldn't want to go into the regular season with that group. However, at least Howard is making the class look better to at least one analyst.