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The Steelers may have caught everyone off guard by selecting Iowa DT Yahya Black as quickly as they did — especially with Oregon DT Derrick Harmon serving as the first-round pick. With the 2025 NFL Draft officially over, it's time to grade the move.
It must be a great feeling for a team to select a prospect that has been so heavily scouted in the pre-draft process — and that is exactly the case for the Steelers, who brought in Black as one of their top-30 visits.
Black is one of the more underrated late-round prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft — with a notable absence entirely from PFF's Big Board.
Some had projected the Iowa Hawkeye's ceiling as a sixth- to seventh-round prospect, and his floor as an undrafted free agent.
One has to wonder if the Steelers could have selected the big run-stopping DT later than the 164th overall pick, but perhaps they noticed something other franchises hadn't during their pre-draft evaluation.
The team could have been planning to draft Will Howard in the sixth round, which forced their hand with Black in Round 5.
The move itself is a great addition, as Black clearly fits the mold of what the Steelers had in mind for this defensive-focused draft — an emphasis on stopping the run, which earns Pittsburgh a solid B grade for the move.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Grading Steelers' Day 3 selection of Yahya Black
Continue reading...
It must be a great feeling for a team to select a prospect that has been so heavily scouted in the pre-draft process — and that is exactly the case for the Steelers, who brought in Black as one of their top-30 visits.
Black is one of the more underrated late-round prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft — with a notable absence entirely from PFF's Big Board.
Some had projected the Iowa Hawkeye's ceiling as a sixth- to seventh-round prospect, and his floor as an undrafted free agent.
One has to wonder if the Steelers could have selected the big run-stopping DT later than the 164th overall pick, but perhaps they noticed something other franchises hadn't during their pre-draft evaluation.
The team could have been planning to draft Will Howard in the sixth round, which forced their hand with Black in Round 5.
The move itself is a great addition, as Black clearly fits the mold of what the Steelers had in mind for this defensive-focused draft — an emphasis on stopping the run, which earns Pittsburgh a solid B grade for the move.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Grading Steelers' Day 3 selection of Yahya Black
Continue reading...
