As has become common under Omar Khan's tenure as GM, the draft board broke almost perfectly for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They needed a new power component in the running game, and Kaleb Johnson fell into their laps. Pittsburgh wanted a developmental quarterback, and Will Howard somehow lasted until the sixth round of the draft.
However, none of the value picks compare to what the Steelers got in Derrick Harmon.
While it wasn’t a complete surprise to see Harmon available when Pittsburgh was on the clock, there were plenty of rumors that he would go earlier. Add in the fact that there was an earlier run on defensive linemen than expected, and it was a relief when the Steelers could take a perfect fit for their defense late in round one.
Harmon was lumped in with the likes of Walter Nolan and Kenneth Grant in terms of who would be the second defensive tackle off the board. The pre-draft speculation was that they would each drive the other's value down.
That wasn’t the case. Grant went earlier than expected to the Dolphins, while Nolan quickly followed him when the Cardinals took him. Thankfully, Harmon fell a handful of more spots right into the Steelers' laps.
There was a lot of speculation that he wouldn’t make it that far, as divisional rival Bengals had been heavily linked to the former Oregon product throughout the Spring. They instead took freak Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart.
As it stands right now, the Steelers ought to send the Bengals a gift basket for giving them such a gift.
The Cincinnati Bengals are kicking themselves for letting the Steelers get Derrick Harmon
On paper, the Bengals' taking Stewart made some level of sense. Their front seven needed a lot of work, and with Trey Hendrickson a question mark given his contract situation (a situation that hasn’t been resolved as of this writing), going after the raw edge threat was logical.
There was risk there, naturally. Stewart is anything but a sure thing, but his ceiling is astronomically higher than Harmon’s, and he plays the more valuable position.
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Pittsburgh certainly wasn’t going to complain about this, as it allowed them to get their guy. And to this point, Harmon has looked like the real deal and should be an impact player sooner rather than later.
Stewart, on the other hand, is in the middle of a gnarly holdout given some specific language in his contract that he doesn’t want included. Instead of getting up to speed in the NFL, he has been practicing with his old college team. Rumors are flying that he may look to get out of his current situation and either return to school or reapply for the draft next year.
The ugly fallout for the Bengals makes the Steelers' draft pick that much sweeter. They get a wonderful asset on defense and a perfect scheme fit. Had Harmon gone to the Bengals, Pittsburgh reportedly would have taken a running back (that would have been a mistake).
Heck, they had an interest in Stewart as well, so there is an alternate reality right now where Stewart is currently the Steelers' headache while Harmon is making some positive news in Cincinnati.
Not only did the Steelers get the better player right now, but they also get to see a hated divisional rival sweat without their top draft pick. The Bengals handed this win on a silver platter, and the Steelers gladly accepted it.