The Pittsburgh Steelers squared away the rookie contract of defensive lineman Derrick Harmon.
Pittsburgh selected Harmon with the 21st overall pick in April’s NFL draft out of Oregon, and on Thursday, the Steelers signed the 21-year-old to a four-year contract, per a team announcement.
Harmon spent three years at Michigan State before transferring to Oregon for his senior season. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 313 pounds, he logged 42 games across his collegiate career and recorded a career-high 27 solo tackles and 45 combined tackles with the Ducks before declaring for the NFL draft.
“He has Steelers DNA,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said. “For us it starts inside and up front. This is a guy that is capable of dominating that space versus the run and the pass. We are excited about having him. Really excited about getting him in here and getting started.”
Harmon is expected to join Cam Heyward, Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt on Pittsburgh’s defensive front this upcoming season.
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The Steelers surrendered 299 rushing yards in their AFC wild-card loss to the Baltimore Ravens, which demonstrated the organization’s need to improve on the defensive front.
“I had a chance to go see him live and he’s impressive,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said, per ESPN’s draft night coverage. “He’s on the other side of the line of scrimmage constantly. You see his quickness. He was at Michigan State, transferred to Oregon. He identified Oregon as not only the school but the scheme to play in because they would let him get up the field and attack. And that’s what he did for Oregon all year long. He was just a load to block, disruptive against the run as he was against the pass, and line of scrimmage, Pittsburgh Steelers, something feels kind of right about that.”
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