The 2025 NFL Draft is in the books for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the class is official. The focus was clear from the front office to build in the trenches, and they did a good job of that on paper.
There are certain play styles in the college ranks, and they are typically grouped by conference. These conferences recruit and play similarly to keep up with each other during their conference schedules each year.
A majority of NFL teams look to the four main college conferences for the more NFL-ready talent, specifically the Big Ten and the SEC. Historically, these two conferences produce a larger portion of NFL players than the other conferences, especially now that the two conferences have a combined 34 schools.
This year's draft was no different, as 26 of the first 32 picks attended either a Big Ten or SEC program. These conferences consistently churn out NFL talent and dominate draft boards.
The Pittsburgh Steelers prioritize Big Ten talent in the 2025 NFL Draft
Pittsburgh chose to favor the Big Ten conference. This should come as no surprise, as the conference has historically aligned with what Pittsburgh values as an organization: a good run game, ball control, and great defense.
The Steelers also selected two players each from the Ohio State Buckeyes and Iowa Hawkeyes, with Jack Sawyer, Will Howard, Kaleb Johnson, and Yahya Black. Derrick Harmon (Oregon) and Carson Bruener (Washington) round out the Big Ten selections, with Donte Kent (Central Michigan) being the lone non-Big Ten conference player selected for 2025.
All of these players fit the desire to fortify the trenches and improve both against the run on defense and their offensive rushing attack. Harmon, Sawyer, and Black will help immensely in improving the team's run defense, which imploded in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, giving up 299 yards to the Ravens in the loss.
Kaleb Johnson will provide some juice to the running back room and fit perfectly into Arthur Smith's offense as a wide zone runner. He will also provide more speed at the position, as, despite his 40-yard dash time, he has more burst and top gear than Najee Harris provided in his time in Pittsburgh.
Favoring the Big Ten in a division such as the AFC North is a sound strategy. The AFC North division's style of football is very similar to how schools in the Big Ten play the game.
The Steelers have had a lot of success in the past drafting out of the Big Ten, getting players like Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt, Pat Freiermuth, Keeanu Benton, Joey Porter Jr., Nick Herbig, and Corey Trice Jr.
Time will tell how the 2025 additions to the roster will pan out but favoring a conference that produces NFL talent the way the Big Ten does is a good starting point to building out your roster.