Needing a quarterback heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, many thought the Pittsburgh Steelers would make a move in the first round to fill that need. It would’ve been a fitting response to free agent Aaron Rodgers, who still didn’t want to sign with the team.
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Whether it was trading up or letting one of the top quarterbacks fall to pick No. 21, it was widely expected that the Steelers would target someone like Shedeur Sanders. The stars even aligned, as Sanders slipped out of the top 10, and then the top 20.
Pick No. 21 came, but the club, surprisingly, did not select the Colorado prospect. Instead, they drafted Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon. Many thought the Steelers would go quarterback, or potentially running back, if they didn’t take a QB. Instead, they beefed up their trenches on the interior line by selecting the Oregon prospect, who some say is expected to replace veteran Cam Heyward when he retires.
Speaking with Heyward himself on his YouTube channel, Not Just Football with Cam Heyward, Harmon shared how his draft day experience went. He, too, was surprised that he was being drafted by the Steelers, so much so that he had to make sure he wasn’t being prank-called when he got the call from a Pittsburgh area code.
“First and foremost, I had to make sure it wasn’t a prank call,” Harmon told Heyward.
“I was on the phone with my good friend, then I talked to James Pearce, and they said they were getting fake calls, so I was worried it would be me next. I saw the number, answered it… It was good. Everybody says draft time is a time you won’t forget, and it’s really unreal, and it was unreal once I got that call.”
Heyward then asked Harmon if he thought he was going to be drafted by the Steelers. He replied no, explaining that he believed the team would select a quarterback instead.
“No, I thought y’all were gonna go quarterback first,” Harmon revealed. “I was surprised, but I was happy.”
Harmon also revealed that he had a good top-30 visit with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan. Heyward then shared that Tomlin had said they would draft Harmon if he were available.
“They were like, ‘We like this one’… If you were gonna be available to us, I knew we weren’t taking a quarterback.”
The Steelers did eventually add a quarterback in the draft. However, they waited until the sixth round to select one in Ohio State star Will Howard. The 23-year-old is expected to compete for the starting job in Pittsburgh this fall.
