MOBILE, Ala. — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is not one for subtlety when it comes to draft evaluation, and he applied his usual level during the first day of practice for the 2025 Senior Bowl on Tuesday.
Tomlin was all over the defensive line drills, especially for the American Team prospects that include potential first-round pick Walter Nolen of Ole Miss and probably Day Two selections Deone Walker of Kentucky and T.J. Sanders of South Carolina.
It wasn't just Tomlin. General manager Omar Khan and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin also joined in the Steelers love-fest for the Senior Bowl defensive line prospects. But at least they kept something of a respective distance. Tomlin was practically running the drills with the defense.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin with Texas edge rusher Barryn Sorrell during Senior Bowl practice on Jan. 28, 2025. — Alan Saunders / Steelers Now
The players don't seem to mind the extra attention.
"It's huge," Virginia Tech defensive tackle Aenas Peebles said after Tomlin came over to talk to him after Peebles wrecked back-to-back plays in a team period. "That's what I dreamt of as a kid, gettin coached by guys like Mike Tomlin. That's literally — I have vivid memories of being a middle schooler, watching NFL games, just praying that one day I'm getting yelled at by Mike Tomlin."
"Seeing that he's watching us, trying to see who he wants," South Carolina's T.J. Sanders said. "I'm just trying to put out my best foot and everyone else is trying to do the same."
The Steelers are hunting in fertile grounds. This is expected to be a very deep class at defensive tackle, from top-five pick Mason Graham of Michigan through likely first-rounders Kenneth Grant of Michigan, Nolen, Derrick Harmon of Oregon and Tyleik Williams of Ohio State to second-round options like Sanders and Walker, this is one of the best defensive line classes in recent memory, especially for a team like the Steelers that won't be selecting highly int he draft.
"The two positions of strength I think in the draft and really on these [Senior Bowl] rosters are running back and defensive lines," Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy said on Monday. "I think those are unusually strong groups."
The Steelers don't have a glaring hole on their defensive line, as 2024 starters Cam Heyward , Larry Ogunjobi and Keeanu Benton are all under contract for 2025. But they have not invested heavily into the position in the draft lately. They got Benton with a second-round pick in the 2024 draft. That was the first time they used a first- or second-round pick on a defensive lineman since
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