Former NFL HC Ripped Steelers Draft Class: ‘I Don’t Like It’

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2025 draft class received mixed reviews from the national media. Some experts raved about the Steelers’ draft haul, while others like Mel Kiper Jr., were not blown away. Kiper gave the Steelers a B- and ranked their draft class 27th out of 32 teams.

Former NFL head coach Jay Gruden was even more critical. Gruden gave the Steelers’ draft haul a D.

“I give a D,” Gruden said of the Steelers’ draft class on his Clean Pocket podcast. “I don’t like it. I’m not a big Derrick Harmon fan. I think he plays high too much. He’s okay. Kaleb Johnson, to me, was a lower-end running back. I know he played good at Iowa, was a tough kid, but he doesn’t really have elite speed. Doesn’t have that elite contact balance. He’s a. big kid, has decent vision. I don’t like him that much.”

After three dormant seasons at Michigan State, Harmon transferred to Oregon in 2024 and broke out in a massive way. He notched a career-high five sacks and 11 tackles for loss, while also registering 55 pressures, which was most in the FBS amongst interior defensive lineman.

The Steelers were in need of a defensive lineman, so the pick made sense. Harmon was also the No. 27 player on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board. It’s not like the Steelers reached on the pick.

Johnson rushed for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns on 240 carries last season for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He recorded 6.4 yards per carry and ranked eighth in the country with 1,725 all-purpose yards.

In ESPN’s latest NFL draft board rankings, Johnson was ranked the No. 40 overall prospect, per Matt Miller.

Jonson stands at 6-foot-1, 224 pounds. He ran a 4.57-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Combine. He also ran a 10-yard split of 1.62 seconds. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is not worried about Johnson’s speed:

“We didn’t question his speed whatsoever watching the video — and oftentimes that’s the case,” Tomlin said. “You can watch video and be really excited about someone’s speed, or you can go to the combine and get excited by their 40 time. His speed was not in question on the video. He broke a lot of long runs in the Big Ten, as we talked about earlier.”

Gruden is the first analyst to really rip the Steelers top two picks. There’s been critical analysis of some of their Day 3 picks, especially the Jack Sawyer selection in the fourth round. On the surface, it seems like the Steelers nailed the Harmon and Johnson selections. Of course, only time will tell. That’s why draft grades are pretty meaningless. A true indication of a draft class won’t be known until at least three years from now.