The Pittsburgh Steelers‘ quest for playoff success continues, but that end goal can’t be achieved without a productive regular season. Mike Tomlin’s crew projects to succeed in that regard, albeit without one of their more promising pieces to kick off the year.
First-round rookie Derrick Harmon is out for Week 1’s game against the New York Jets. The No. 21 overall pick is nursing an MCL sprain suffered during the preseason. Fortunately for the Black & Gold, he didn’t open the season on injured reserve. It’s a week-to-week recovery.
The downside is this week, Harmon didn’t practice at all. Pittsburgh won’t have a primary run-stuffer when they face a prolific quarterback-running back duo.
Teryl Austin Confident in Steelers’ Ability to Withstand Loss of Derrick Harmon
Is that worrisome? Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin doesn’t seem to believe so. Speaking to the media in advance of Sunday’s game, he praised the depth the Steelers have to help withstand the absence of Harmon.
“Obviously, we’re fortunate it’s a short-term injury, he’ll be back,” Austin said. “I think we have quality dudes and quality backups there. You have a veteran guy like Milk [Isaiahh Loudermilk] and a young guy like Yahya [Black]. I think we have some good quality guys that are going to fill that role until he’s back. We have some young guys that are filling that role, they’re going to have to fill roles all year because, as you know, you don’t go through a season unscathed.”
Injuries are bound to happen, says Austin, but his crew is prepared for anything besides a doomsday scenario.
“There’s going to be times where those guys miss, and those guys will have to step up and do a really good job,” Austin said. “I think we’ve addressed our depth. We’ve addressed it with some young talent, some big bodies. So, I’m not really worried about it at this time. If we were to have a whole bunch of injuries, then there might be a different story, but not right now.”
In his senior collegiate campaign, Harmon was a tremendous lineman. Not only did he post a sparkling Pro Football Focus pass rush grade of 86.3, but his 81.6 run defense grade ranked compared favorably to his peers. His true professional debut being delayed is a bummer for the Steelers.
The Loudermilk-Black duo should indeed get the job done, though.
Yahya Black Gets Massive Praise From His Defensive Coordinator With Cam Heyward Comp
The latter part of that tandem stands out to Austin. Black, a fifth-round pick in this same rookie class Harmon is in, enjoyed a tremendous offseason. He went from a potential roster candidate and developmental piece to someone who’s expected to contribute in year one.
Last year at Iowa, Black posted a very similar PFF run defense grade (81.0) to that of Harmon. Despite his immense size, an underwhelming pre-draft process in regards to athletic testing hurt his stock. That was music to the Steelers’ ears, however, as they swooped him up with a Day 3 selection. Black rewarded them with 6 tackles and 2 sacks in the preseason.
Austin heaped some big-time praise on his rookie. He believes Black’s ability to pair his length and strength with quality hand usage compares to All-Pro Cameron Heyward.
“Cam Heyward is a fine example of that,” Austin said. “You’re talking about a big, strong guy who can use his hands and get off blocks, and he understands blocking schemes. So, there’s times he just shows up and makes plays all over the place because he understands it’s not always brute force, but he has that in him. I think that’s what Yahya has. When you’re looking at him as an early, developing player, you see some of those traits. Big, strong, with hands and has the ability to develop. I think he’s going to be really, really fine player in this league for a long time.”
That isn’t to set the bar at Heyward’s career for what Black will accomplish. That’d be silly. It is, though, a vote of confidence that things could be just fine until Harmon returns.
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