The Pittsburgh Steelers emerged victorious in Week 1, but it wasn't exactly smooth sailing to an opening game win. The running game failed to get off the ground, while the defense had difficulty mustering up a stop. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's 2025 rookie draft class failed to make its presence felt.
One rookie played a particularly large role in Week 1, but was unable to capitalize. Yahya Black, the Steelers' fifth-round pick out of Iowa, was gifted a golden opportunity with first-round defensive lineman Derrick Harmon out... but things didn't go according to plan.
Black played 24 defensive snaps for the Steelers, and he had some opportunities to make plays. Unfortunately, the big defensive tackle was too often pushed out of the play and was credited with two missed tackles.
Black's forgettable performance resulted in a 44.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, and his 47.5 run defense grade from PFF left much to be desired. The good news is that there's only room to go up from here.
Pittsburgh Steelers rookie DL Yahya Black just got his NFL wake-up call
Black quickly learned that the jump in talent and athleticism from the Big Ten to the NFL is significant. Although he was hardly moved off the line of scrimmage as a Senior at Iowa, Black gave some ground attempting to anchor against double teams when facing the Jets in Week 1, and he didn't get laterally as quickly as he needed to clean up plays.
But his forgettable performance against New York was the wake-up call he needed... and honestly, there was a lot of good on tape.
When I went back and watched the all-22 film on Black, I saw a player who displayed his grown-man strength and raw power, using it to overtake smaller offensive linemen. Now it's about becoming more consistent.
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At 6'6'' and roughly 340 pounds with 35-inch arms, Black has a size advantage over nearly any individual player he'll be matched up against on the offensive line. Like Cam Heyward before him, he should only continue to get stronger with age and experience.
To be fair to Black, hardly anyone on Pittsburgh's defense played well. Keeanu Benton was a disaster next to him in the run game, while Alex Highsmith was routinely washed out of plays. Even Heyward struggled to anchor consistently in this contest. And if teammates aren't performing well around a rookie defensive lineman, you can expect some growing pains.
I'm not worried about Yahya Black after his debut performance. The rookie still flashed the strength and traits that could make him a stable piece of the Steelers' interior defensive line.
Black just got his 'welcome to the NFL' moment against the New York Jets. Now let's see how he responds.