The Pittsburgh Steelers liked what they saw from their 2025 first-round pick in Week 3.
Fans have been on the edge of their seats waiting to see Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 first-round pick Derrick Harmon in regular season action. After being sidelined with an MCL sprain for the first two weeks of the season, he finally made his regular season debut against the New England Patriots , and it's safe to say they liked what it saw.
Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin couldn't help but rave about Harmon's Week 3 performance.
"I liked it," Austin said. "You see all the stuff we thought we were getting at camp. He's got good mobility. He's slippery off of blocks. He can do some different things. The biggest thing with him right now is just the conditioning, but it was good to see him out there and see him kind of pick up where he left off at camp. I think really the thing that gets me excited about him is he's only going to get better. You're talking about a guy that at the beginning of the week we weren't sure if he was even going to make it. Then all of a sudden, he shows up, he makes it, and he played. I thought he played well for the amount of snaps he had. I just anticipate him getting better and better as we go on this journey."
Harmon suffered his injury in the preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers in late August. While it was unfortunate timing, Pittsburgh was relieved to find out it wasn't more serious.
The rookie defensive tackle quickly made his way back onto the field and made an immediate impact, recording a sack and two tackles while playing on a limited snap count.
Pittsburgh Steelers rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon against the New England Patriots on Sept. 21, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
The sky seems to be the limit for Harmon, and head coach Mike Tomlin joined in on that notion following the game.
"I was appreciative of his efforts," Tomlin said. "Excited for him. He's a competitor. He wanted to be out there with his teammates. I thought he represented himself well today and so it's just upward and onward from here."
The Steelers desperately needed to get Harmon back on the field after giving up 100 yards to back-to-back starting running backs through the first two weeks of the season.
With Harmon back on the field, Pittsburgh held running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson to a combined 46 yards on 15 carries.
The Steelers were looking for a spark on their defensive front, and they might have found it in Harmon.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Steelers DC Assesses Derrick Harmon's Regular Season Debut
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