Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton knows a thing or two about great defensive line play. The five-time Pro Bowler anchored the Steelers’ defenses of the 2000s. During that period, no one ran on the Steelers, and Hampton played a key role in smashing the run.
After giving up 299 yards rushing to the Baltimore Ravens in last year’s Wild Card loss, the Steelers want to get back to dominating against the run. That’s why they selected Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon in the first round.
During a recent appearance on The Christian Kuntz Podcast, Hampton expressed that he believes Harmon has the potential to be the next great defensive lineman in Pittsburgh.
“He coming in the right situation… learning behind Cam [Heyward], a guy like that man, he’s coming into a perfect, perfect situation,” Hampton said. “[Karl] Dunbar excellent coach. I mean the culture of the d-lineman here and just the defense.
“If he [comes] in with the right attitude, man, that boy can be a beast.”
The Steelers selected Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Veteran Cameron Heyward thinks they were lucky to land him.
“Derrick Harmon, really good football player, even better person. I think everybody’s got a chance to hear his story. I like the way he plays on the field,” Heyward said on his “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” podcast. “He can play a five-technique, a three-technique, a four-technique, good hands, good acceleration, and I think he’s only going to continue to just keep getting better. So I think we really lucked out with that, getting a guy like that early in the draft.”
Harmon is one of the best defensive tackles in the draft class, but he was selected within his projected range, ranked as the No. 27 overall player on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board.
Nonetheless, he will help to immediately address the Steelers’ aging defensive line after recording 45 tackles, five sacks and a pair of forced and recovered fumbles in 2024.
Harmon could also prove to be Heyward’s future replacement. He has already received several comparisons to Heyward throughout the pre-draft process, and he only added to that when he revealed he’s watched Heyward for inspiration at the NFL level.
“Definitely Cam,” Harmon said. “The run, how he plays that run. If I want to watch some run tape, I’m turning on Cam Heyward.”
However, Heyward doesn’t want to put that kind of pressure on Harmon and is just excited to throw him into Pittsburgh’s already talented defensive line.
“It’s not fair to compare another player to a teammate. I just don’t think that’s right,” Heyward said. “Keeanu Benton, Dean Lowry, Isaiahh Loudermilk. We got a good group of guys, and I think you add him into the mix. We’re gonna create a lot of havoc.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Legend Gives Derrick Harmon a Ringing Endorsement
