Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers run defense faded down the stretch due in large part to a lack of push by the defensive line. While Cam Heyward was having one of his best seasons, the rest of the defensive line struggled. Now with Larry Ogunjobi gone the Steelers are down to Heyward and Keeanu Benton as the only viable starters on the roster.
Pittsburgh acknowledges this and has had five different defensive tackles in for Top 30 visits ahead of the 2025 NFL draft. Several of these guys absolutely fit the bill for what the Steelers need. Here's how we rank the five guys Pittsburgh is showing the most interest in.
Jamaree Caldwell - Oregon
Caldwell is the closest thing in this draft to former Steeler Casey Hampton. He's a huge nose tackle prospects with tremendous strength and is a selfless player who is happy just eating up double teams to allow others to make plays.
Joshua Farmer - FSU
Farmer has really moved up draft boards this offseason and rightfully so. In a draft where you don't see a lot of prospects who have a high ceiling as a pass rusher and run defender, Farmer is unique in that he can do it all.
JJ Pegues - Ole Miss
Pegues is an interesting prospect for Ole Miss as they used him on offense and defense thanks to his surprising athleticism at 6-foot-2 and 309 pounds. Pegue wins with a quick first step and lower body strength but it's his ability to work as a fullback or tight end that is interesting.
Yahya Black - Iowa
Black is more of a developmental nose tackle prospect and probably isn't quite ready to contribute except in obvious rushing downs.
Elijah Roberts - SMU
We include Roberts on this but he's a very different kind of player than the other four. Roberts is a nice developmental player but for the Steelers he fits more as a 3-4 defense end, which is a need but doesn't offer much as an interior run defender.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Defensive tackle is a top priority in the 2025 NFL draft
