When the Pittsburgh Steelers took the practice field for the first time since suffering an MCL sprain during the preseason finale, fans were optimistic that the rookie would not only be on track to play, but he would fix their defensive woes. It's time we pump the brakes on this idea before we end up disappointed.
It's always a blow to lose your first-round pick for any length of time. Harmon was drafted to be the eventual cornerstone replacement for Cameron Heyward. While he showed tremendous mobility and the ability to disrupt the quarterback in college, we've yet to see him in an NFL game.
During the first two weeks of the season, the Steelers were without Harmon... and the results on defense proved to be worse than anything we could have imagined.
Entering Week 3, Pittsburgh ranks 29th in opponent points per game, yards allowed, and yards per play, while finishing 27th in both opponent time of possession and defensive EPA per play. A large portion of the blame for these disastrous statistics belongs to the Steelers' defensive line.
Early in the season, Isaiahh Loudermilk (who is now on IR with an ankle injury) was effortlessly washed out of running plays while Keeanu Benton proved once again that he's not the two-gapping nose tackle the Steelers are trying to make him be. Because of this, Harmon is thought to be an answer to Pittsburgh's biggest defensive problem. But his presence won't change everything.
Derrick Harmon won't make all of the Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive issues disappear
Harmon was able to practice in a limited fashion to begin the week, and we'll continue to monitor his status ahead of Sunday's game against the New England Patriots. The first-round pick isn't guaranteed to play this week, but even if he suits up, fans' expectations for the raw rookie in his first-ever NFL game are far too high.
For starters, Harmon is coming off a fairly significant knee injury, and prior to Wednesday, he hadn't even practiced with the team since spraining his MCL on August 21 (nearly a full month ago). If he does play, you can bet that Mike Tomlin will be cautious about his usage and may limit his snap count coming off the knee injury.
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But let's even assume that Harmon is a full-go as a starter in a full-time role on defense. What can we expect him to do early in his rookie season that will completely change the dynamic of the defense?
Harmon's presence isn't going to stop Benton from being blown off the ball. It's not going to automatically make Payton Wilson and Patrick Queen fill in rushing lanes. It won't make T.J. Watt suddenly unaccounted for by opposing offenses, and it won't make the secondary stop giving up big plays down the field.
The hope is that Derrick Harmon becomes the player we hope he can be. However, at the end of the day, he's a rookie coming off an injury who's yet to play a down in the NFL. It's not fair to Harmon to expect him to fix a Pittsburgh Steelers defense playing its worst football in years.