Promising Steelers Rookie Receives Vote For Midseason Award

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have hit a home run with their 2025 first-round draft pick, defensive lineman Derrick Harmon from Oregon. After missing the first two games of the season with a knee injury, Harmon has made a noticeable impact on the Steelers' defense. His stats won't blow anyone away, but he’s been the big presence up front that the Steelers have been looking for to go alongside Cameron Heyward. Steelers fans already know the impact he’s made, but now Harmon is starting to get the attention of NFL executives too.

It's been 24 years since a Pittsburgh Steeler has been awarded Defensive Rookie of the Year. It wasn’t Heyward, TJ Watt, Troy Polamalu, or Ryan Shazier.  It was Kendrell Bell in 2001. It might be a long shot for Harmon to win Defensive Rookie of the Year this season, but he is still getting recognition. 

The Steelers have had plenty of great defensive players over the past two decades, but that specific award has somehow slipped away from them. The idea that Harmon could even be in the conversation says a lot about how he has played so far and the potential the league sees in him.

Every year at midseason, Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated polls NFL general managers, VPs, directors of player personnel, and directors of pro scouting to get their thoughts on who would win various NFL awards if the season ended today. In the 2025 version of the early Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation, Harmon didn’t come away as the frontrunner, but he did receive one vote. Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger led the poll with 15.5 votes. New York Giants outside linebacker Abdul Carter followed with 11 votes. Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell received six, Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori had 2.5, and then Washington Commanders cornerback Trey Amos, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Teddye Buchanan, Dallas Cowboys defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku, and Harmon each received one vote.

Sure, if you’re just looking at the numbers, it might not seem like a huge deal. One vote doesn’t exactly mean Harmon is about to run away with any award. Being tied for fifth place in some hypothetical midseason voting might not sound flashy, but just like Harmon's game itself, you kind of have to look past the numbers to understand what makes this meaningful.

Through his first six NFL games, Harmon has recorded just 13 tackles, one sack, one pass breakup, and one fumble recovery. Those stats don't stand out, added to the fact that he’s only been on the field for around 50% of the defensive snaps. What has caught the eye of league scouts and executives hasn't been his statistics, but it has been the way he plays. 

Harmon’s combination of size, leverage, and power allows him to control blocks in a way that a lot of young defensive linemen simply can’t yet. He doesn’t get moved off the ball. He clogs up lanes. He eats space so that guys like Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson can make plays. His impact shows up in the success of others, which isn’t something that usually gets talked about unless you’re looking closely.

Steelers' Harmon Still Has Time To Make Stronger Case For DROY

There is still a lot of football left this season, so things can change quickly. But if Harmon continues to grow at the pace he has so far and finishes the year strong, then yes, he absolutely could insert himself firmly into the Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation. Not only will it be important for Harmon to finish the season strong, but the Steelers defense as a whole will need to play at an elite level to give Pittsburgh the chance to make a playoff run as their schedule intensifies in the second half of the season. 

Even if Harmon doesn’t bring home the DROY trophy, the important thing is that the Steelers may have found their next foundational defensive lineman, and those don’t come around often.

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