The Pittsburgh Steelers are historically known for their elite defenses, as that was the catalyst for all six of their Super Bowl victories, including the Steel Curtain dynasty in the 1970s. Each of those units had an amazing defensive line that could find all kinds of ways to make life hard on opposing offenses. Fast forward to 2025, and the current iteration of the team is looking for that same spark. The organization has generational edge rusher talent, along with quality players all over the unit. Help is just needed up front.
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(From left to right) Larry Ogunjobi, Cameron Heyward, and Keeanu Benton line up during a practice for the Steelers.
Steelers insider Gerry Dulac knows all about those ferocious units, and he knows that Pittsburgh needs to get back to its roots. Luckily, the team should be able to do that with ease.
"Sure, there are examples of adding mid-to-late-round picks to bolster the unit — Keisel, a seventh-round pick, for example," Dulac wrote. "But if they’re looking to find the next Cam Heyward — a future Pro Bowl and All-Pro talent — the odds are greatly in their favor if they do it in the first round — and not just this year."
The Steelers usually have an assembly line that manufactures superstar defensive linemen for them. Two of them even have the rare honor of having their jerseys officially retired by the team. However, with many other pressing needs popping up along with some major changes in the front office, it has been closed for a bit. There are plenty of reasons to believe it will change, though.
The defense as a whole underachieved after the bye week in 2024, with the primary reason being that the front four could not get any sort of consistent pressure on the opposing quarterback. The Steelers' scheme is over-reliant on making plays happen behind the line of scrimmage. TJ Watt and Cameron Heyward in his resurgent season were clearly not enough to get the job done.
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Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle, Cam Heyward, left (#97), and edge rusher, TJ Watt, right (#90) celebrate during pregame warmups at Heinz Field in 2021.
Larry Ogunjobi has been tagged as a cap casualty target, and Keeanu Benton dealt with lots of stagnation in his second year as a pro. There needs to be some sort of change made, and it goes beyond hoping of the many late-round draft picks steps up in a big role in 2025. They have to go big or go home.
Steelers Fans Have Big Reason To Expect The Steelers To Draft Defensive Line Early
Assistant general manager Andy Weidl is known for his desire to build within the trenches. When he was first hired along with the promotion of General Manager Omar Khan, they got to work on that front, but they focused on the offensive line first. In the two drafts that they have had with the Steelers so far, they selected five young offensive linemen, all of whom have started at least one game for Pittsburgh.
With that out of the way for now, it's time for them to focus on the other side. Their low-risk late-round picks have mainly been used as depth players, which means the Steelers need to go out and get the best of the best. It worked for the Philadelphia Eagles, and the ex-Eagles executive is here to help mold the black and gold into that style.
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Philadelphia Eagles DT Fletcher Cox shared a sack with Javon Hargrave on former Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger.
On top of that, Dulac said that the Steelers can keep getting All-Pros in future drafts. Not only can they get someone to help out now, but they can also draft someone once Heyward retires and fill his shoes. The 2025 draft class is stacked with talent at that position, and they can keep finding either hidden gems or obvious fits to help them out down the road. If they can get back to dominating the line of scrimmage, good luck to whichever offense they face.
What do you think about the Steelers' chances of drafting a first-team All-Pro defensive lineman? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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