The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't make the absurd splash many fans were hoping for during the 2025 offseason. General manager Omar Khan was cautious with his spending during free agency, and the front office didn't have an excess of draft capital to work with. Still, this team made some impressive moves that will have major implications on the 2025 season and the future.
With limited resources at their disposal, the Steelers landed a few assets that could prove to be foundational roster pieces while simultaneously loading up on compensatory picks for the 2026 NFL Draft. Minus the quarterback position, which the Steelers will look to resolve with a long-term solution next year, the future is looking bright in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers saw an immense amount of roster turnover from the beginning of the offseason until now, and more moves could still be on the way before training camp. I've taken the liberty of ranking the five best offseason moves based on immediate impact, future upside, and positional needs.
Ranking the five best Pittsburgh Steelers roster decisions of the 2025 offseason
5. Drafting Will Howard
Should a sixth-round pick really make the cut of the five best moves the Pittsburgh Steelers made this offseason? In this case, yes. With no semblance of a plan at the quarterback position and no promise that Aaron Rodgers will come to town, finding a quarterback in the NFL Draft was essential.
I'm not the biggest fan of Will Howard's game, and I think his upside could be limited due to his pedestrian arm talent. Still, the national championship quarterback went later in the draft (pick No. 185) than anyone expected. Howard not only has a clear path to the roster, but given the current makeup of the position (Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson), the sixth-round pick may end up being the best of the group.
4. Signing Darius Slay
Initially, I didn't love the decision to sign a 34-year-old cornerback to a one-year contract. At his age, there's no guarantee that Darius Slay's performance won't fall off a cliff. However, the price was unbeatable compared to the competition.
The Steelers are getting a cornerback coming off a good season with the Eagles at a $10 million cap number. But what makes this so great is that Slay was cut by Philadelphia, and he didn't count against the compensatory formula. This will help keep more future comp picks intact. Slay was a low-risk signing with a potentially high reward and comes at a big positional need at cornerback.
3. Trading for DK Metcalf
Many fans will be quick to slot the DK Metcalf trade in the top spot of Steelers' offseason moves, but I have this roster decision coming in third. Metcalf is a Pro Bowl wide receiver who should give the offense an immediate boost, but this trade came at the cost of a second-round draft pick plus a five-year, $150 million contract extension ($30 million per year).
That's a lot of compensation for a 27-year-old wide receiver who may not be a true No. 1 option in the passing game. Still, when you look at the lack of options that would have been available to the Steelers with the 52nd overall pick that was sent to Seattle in the trade, Metcalf is easily the best option and the right choice.
2. Drafting Kaleb Johnson
I was a big fan of Kaleb Johnson during the pre-draft process and was ecstatic when the Pittsburgh Steelers scooped him up with the 83rd overall pick in the third round. Johnson was the 34th player on my draft board this year and ranked 52nd overall on the NFL Draft Expert Consensus Board.
Johnson undoubtedly slipped in the draft due to his poor 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine (4.57), but he plays much faster than this on tape as he can long-stride away from defenders in the open field. At 6'1'' and 224 pounds with outstanding production and tape as a junior in 2024 at Iowa, Johnson could be the workhorse back of this team for the next 4-5 years.
1. Drafting Derrick Harmon
This decision stands in a tier of its own. I know every Steelers fan wants a resolution at the quarterback position, but taking their big swing on signal-caller this year didn't make sense with the underwhelming crop of talent in the 2025 NFL Draft. Instead, Pittsburgh made the best move possible, landing a cornerstone football player in the trenches.
Derrick Harmon was flagged for a few injury concerns, but he's a high-character player with an unmatched size and athletic profile for an interior defender. Harmon's ability to generate rapid pressure is uncanny for a big man, and his non-stop motor gives him both a high floor and a high ceiling at the NFL level. The Oregon standout has a chance to be the best draft pick Omar Khan has made in his first three seasons as general manager.