Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan has strung together some mightily impressive draft classes during his tenure, especially when it comes to his trench players. Guys like Keeanu Benton and Zach Frazier have quickly become fan favorites on the line of scrimmage.
While first-round pick Derrick Harmon is already living up to expectations, another defensive lineman in this year’s class has caught some attention for his strong start to camp: fifth-rounder Yahya Black.
The 330-pounder is seemingly playing out of position, lining up with the defensive ends more often than the nose tackles. Still, he has showcased impressive athleticism in his reps and looks poised to be a contributor in the defensive line rotation.
Yahya Black's athleticism already turning heads early in camp
One of the highlight examples is from the first day of training camp, where he lined up over Broderick Jones and beat him to the inside on a far-side zone run. He then chased down the play and got a hand on Kaleb Johnson in the backfield.
This defense is something special pic.twitter.com/HhbJQq8CfY
— Robbie (@SteelersWRobbie) July 24, 2025
Even if Black is playing out of position in many fans’ eyes, if he can be productive in the rotation with Heyward and Harmon at defensive end, particularly against the run, then Khan and the Steelers have hit a real home run with their fifth-round selection.
At Iowa, the behemoth defensive lineman racked up 85 tackles, 12 for a loss, and 4.5 sacks in his final two seasons. His production in college made him one of the more prominent figures on a stellar Hawkeyes’ defense, but doubts about his pass-rushing abilities and block-shedding skill set pegged him as a Day 3 pick in the draft.
Still, after an impressive mini-camp showing and a great start in the first week of training camp, Black has proven to be more savvy and athletic than his Combine scores and scouting reports would indicate.
READ MORE: Steelers rookie already turning heads with red-hot camp debut
Black is already heavily featured in the rotation, especially as Heyward takes it easy through camp, and he’s made a few plays while showing the hustle worthy of a regular role in the defense on Sundays this fall. That’s mighty impressive for a fifth-round pick, even if Pittsburgh didn’t have great depth on the defensive front heading into camp.