The third and final day of the 2025 NFL Draft provided some interesting opportunities for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After a trade ‘down’ with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Steelers were able to add a second seventh round selection. If there’s a theme in this year’s Draft fir the Steelers I’d say it was a return to high character, leader-type guys. Here’s a quick look at their afternoon.
Fourth Round – Jack Sawyer, EDGE, Ohio State
I look at this selection with two points of view. As a person and leader, Sawyer is exactly what you want as a Pittsburgh Steeler. He’s going to give you everything he’s got too. As far as the position, I’m a little perplexed.
Sawyer is big and powerful but doesn’t possess anything in terms of twitch or suddenness. He strikes me much more of a 4-3 defensive end rather than a stand-up outside backer. Is it possible that’s the plan? It definitely could be. Consider that both Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig were injured at times last year too.
Fifth Round – Yahya Black, DL, Iowa
At 6’6” and over 330lbs, Black is an absolute space-eater. He also brings a wing-span of over seven feet as well. His overall lack of quickness gets him in trouble at times and he’s shown little in the way of pass rush success.
There’s no question the Steelers needed to double up on the defensive line but I expected they’d look for a little more versatility. Black predominantly lined up in the B gap at Iowa so there will be questions as to whether he can play a true nose tackle position.
Sixth Round – Will Howard, QB, Ohio State
The run on Big Ten players continued with the addition of the National Champion QB from OSU. Regardless of whether Aaron Rodgers comes to Pittsburgh or not, Omar Khan had to add to this room.
Howard has tremendous size at 6’4” and 230lbs. He takes advantage of a strong base to make solid, accurate throws in the short to middle range and can occasionally make positive throws deep. You can’t deny the talent that was around him at OSU which makes his career at Kansas State probably more important in terms of evaluation.
If he can keep progressing then he could possibly work himself into a backup or spot starter type of role down the road for the Steelers. Either way, he’s a high-quality person and solid leader as well.
Seventh Round – Carson Bruener, LB, Washington
Besides Derrick Harmon, this is the other one I nailed in my mock draft. Bruener is the son of former Steelers’ tight end and current scout Mark Bruener. The former Huskie is a tackling machine and above average coverage LB.
Consider, the Steelers already have Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Malik Harrison, Cole Holcomb and Mark Robinson so where does Bruener fit? I see him on the Practice Squad before becoming a core Special Teams player.
Seventh Round – Donte Kent, CB, Central Michigan
Kent is about 5’10” 185lbs and likely fits in at the slot. He does have the capability of playing outside too. He’s a four-year starter and team captain for the Chippewas.
He had 47 career passes defensed but recorded just two interceptions and he’ll need to work on the tackling aspect of the game as well. There is some potential as a gunner given his 4.38 speed.
We’ve seen the Steelers take a similar path before when it comes to the Draft. It seemed quite apparent to me that guys with winning resumes, strong leadership traits and overall high-character locker room guys. The first two years of Omar Khan’s reign saw a lot of highly athletic guys coming off the board. This year was clearly different.
