
ESPN mock draft has Pittsburgh Steelers stealing ‘the next Cam Heyward’
Mel Kiper’s final pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers is officially in.
In his last mock draft of the NFL Draft cycle, Kiper has the Steelers bypassing a quarterback and taking defensive lineman Derrick Harmon.
Kiper’s rationale is that Harmon makes a lot of sense next to Keeanu Benton.
He originally had Jaxson Dart as the pick, but thinks the Steelers will go elsewhere with Aaron Rodgers looming.
“Harmon is a constant headache for opponents.
He had five sacks and 35 pressures as an interior pass rusher last season, and he took care of business in the run game with 11 stops and 10 tackles for loss.
Keeanu Benton and Harmon would be a good pairing inside,” Kiper wrote.
Harmon has been called ‘the next Cam Heyward’ at times in the NFL Draft process.
After a great day of testing at the NFL Combine, those comparisons only ratcheted up.
In Indianapolis, Harmon stood at 6-foot-4, weighing in at 313 pounds. Harmon ran a 4.95 40-yard dash with a 1.74 10-yard split, both great numbers for his size.
One NFL scout told NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein that Harmon reminds me a lot of Heyward.
“He plays like a Raven or a Steeler. Off the tape, he reminds me of a young Cam Heyward but bigger,” the scout told Zierlein.
Harmon is a commonly mocked player to the Steelers, right up there with Grant and Nolen.
In large part, the Heyward comparisons are a big piece of why, as Harmon should slot in as a tradition five-technique that can scoot inside during sub-packages, much like Heyward.
The Steelers only sent a scout to Oregon’s Pro Day rather than a horde of the top brass, or even defensive line coach Karl Dunbar.
Still, it is hard to see the team not being interested in Harmon, who fits exactly what they like at the position.