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Add the Steelers to the list of teams to have their first-round pick under contract. Pittsburgh agreed to terms with defensive lineman Derrick Harmon on Wednesday, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero notes.

Harmon’s rookie pact, as the No. 21 overall pick, will run through 2028. The Steelers will have a fifth-year option on the contract, one the team must exercise by May 2028. The Oregon alum will be tied to a fully guaranteed $17.97MM deal. Harmon is the first D-lineman the Steelers have drafted in Round 1 since Cameron Heyward in 2011.

While the Steelers will pair Heyward and Harmon this season, the Oregon prospect profiles as one the team will hope anchors the D-line after Heyward retires. Two seasons remain on Heyward’s deal, though no guarantees are in place beyond 2025. Heyward is heading into his age-36 season; Harmon will not turn 22 until August.

Viewed as a clear landing spot for either Jaxson Dart or Shedeur Sanders, the Steelers instead fortified a D-line by adding a first-rounder alongside Heyward and 2023 second-rounder Keeanu Benton. The Giants were leery of the Steelers’ QB need at No. 21, but New York’s front office expected Pittsburgh to pass. This led to Big Blue trading up (via the Texans) at No. 25 for Dart, a player the Steelers are believed to have graded as a first-round talent.

Pittsburgh’s Aaron Rodgers wait has surpassed two months now, but the organization remains optimistic. The team entered the draft aiming to take its swing for a long-term QB — after missing on Kenny Pickett — in either the 2025 or ’26 drafts. The Harmon pick points such a move to 2026, as the Steelers added an extra third-round pick via the post-draft George Pickens trade with the Cowboys.

Harmon put up career-best numbers during his one season at Oregon. The Michigan State transfer posted five sacks, 11 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles, helping the Ducks to the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The 311-pounder’s quickness and power make him a menace inside the tackles, but he also showed the ability to line up outside. Although Heyward played sparingly as a rookie 14 years ago, the Steelers will likely turn to Harmon as an immediate regular along their D-line.

This signing wraps the Steelers’ draft class contracts. Here is how Pittsburgh’s class looks heading into OTAs:

• Round 1, No. 21: Derrick Harmon (DT, Oregon) (signed)
• Round 3, No. 83: Kaleb Johnson (RB, Iowa) (signed)
• Round 4, No. 123: Jack Sawyer (OLB, Ohio State) (signed)
• Round 5, No. 164 (from Lions through Browns, Eagles and Chiefs): Yahya Black (DE, Iowa) (signed)
• Round 6, No. 185 (from Bears through Seahawks): Will Howard (QB, Ohio State) (signed)
• Round 7, No. 226 (from Panthers through Chiefs): Carson Bruener (LB, Washington) (signed)
• Round 7, No. 229 (from Falcons through Eagles): Donte Kent (CB, Central Michigan) (signed)

The Steelers’ 2025 rookie class is now under contract.

The Steelers’ entire 2025 rookie class is now under contract.

Per a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed 21st overall pick Derrick Harmon to his rookie deal. The contract is four years, $17,973,604, and fully-guaranteed. And like all first-round contracts, it’ll come with a fifth-year option.

Harmon played for the Oregon Ducks in 2024, recording 45 total tackles, five sacks, and two forced fumbles. The 6’4, 313-pound defender had the most quarterback pressures of any college defensive tackle last season, per PFF.

Harmon joins fellow Steelers draftees Kaleb Johnson, Jack Sawyer, Yahya Black, Will Howard, Carson Bruener, and Donte Kent as under-contract players.

The Steelers’ OTAs are scheduled to begin May 27. Training camp is expected to kick off in late July.

The Steelers add to their offensive line depth

The Steelers have added some offensive line depth Wednesday. Per a team announcement, Pittsburgh has signed offensive guard Nick Broeker to a one-year deal.

The details of the contract have yet to be announced.

Broeker was drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. He’s spent most of his career with the Houston Texans, appearing in 12 career games.

Broeker played college football at Ole Miss.

After releasing offensive guard Lecitus Smith on Tuesday, the Steelers didn’t waste much time filling the vacant roster spot on the offensive line.

Matt LaFleur believes Aaron Rodgers is Pittsburgh bound

As we get closer and closer to the month of June and closer to mandatory minicamp, the anticipation of the Aaron Rodgers to Pittsburgh expectations and rumors continue to grow and grow.

Rodgers is heavily expected to sign with the Steelers ahead of that mandatory minicamp mark of the offseason, so these next few weeks will certainly be days when the news could break at any point. And it isn’t just the media that expects Rodgers to be a Steeler; it’s head coaches, as well. Specifically, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. Joining Up & Adams, LaFleur says that, while neither Mike Tomlin nor Arthur Smith has reached out to him to ask any Rodgers-centric questions, he expects that Rodgers will be a Steeler.

“I’m pretty sure they know what they’re doing,” LaFleur said. “I’m sure they’re confident in what they’re doing. I would fully expect him to be a Pittsburgh Steeler.”

Rodgers played under LaFleur from 2019-22, where the duo led the Packers to three consecutive 13-3 seasons from 2019-21. Rodgers also won two MVPs with LaFleur as his head coach. It’s certainly not nothing that LaFleur would go out of his way to say he expects his former quarterback to head to Pittsburgh.