The Pittsburgh Steelers spent the three days of the 2025 NFL draft adding some talented players to their roster and moving around the board.
In total, Steelers general manager Omar Khan made seven picks, bringing in Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson, Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer, Iowa defensive lineman Yahya Black, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, Washington linebacker Carson Bruener and Central Michigan cornerback Donte Kent.
Khan also made one draft-day trade, sending a fifth-round pick (No. 156 overall) to the Kansas City Chiefs for a fifth-round pick (No. 165 overall) and a seventh-round selection (No. 226 overall).
On Sunday, NFL analyst Warren Sharp went through the draft classes of every team and ranked them by his metric “DCOE” or Draft Capital Over Expectation, which, he says measures expected capital used on a prospect compared to the actual capital used.
Using this metric, Sharp determined the Steelers to have the eighth-most valuable draft classes in 2025 with a DCOE of -0.55. Teams ahead of Pittsburgh were the Atlanta Falcons (-1.93), Cleveland Browns (-1.36), Arizona Cardinals (-1.32), Philadelphia Eagles (-1.12), New York Giants (-1.01), Kansas City Chiefs (-0.85) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-0.74).
Sharp went into even more detail on social media, saying that the Steelers had an even better draft through the first five rounds.
the Steelers had the #8 best draft based on value
but if you focus on what they did with higher value draft picks…
the Steelers ranked #6 in draft value thru the first five rounds
RB Kaleb Johnson at No. 83 when he was projected No. 54 and EDGE Jack Sawyer at No. 123 when he… pic.twitter.com/QljoU7Lut8
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 27, 2025
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Pittsburgh may have had a strong draft, but the biggest question still needs to be answered. Who will be under center in Week 1? If this season started today it would be a battle between Howard, Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson in training camp.
To wait until sixth to take a quarterback in this draft, they have to feel good about their chances of landing Rodgers. If they do, their outlook for the 2025 season will likely be much brighter, but it’s hard to feel great about a year with a rookie sixth-round pick or a journeyman backup as the starter.
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