The Pittsburgh Steelers are off and rolling with training camp getting underway this week, and first-round defensive tackle Derrick Harmon has quietly been everything the franchise could have hoped for and more out of the gates.
“Derrick Harmon is already a monster,” Steelers Now beat reporter Alan Saunders wrote on July 24, live from training camp. “He started in the base defense, blew up a running play, batted down a pass, and he’s still at the very early edge of his learning curve in terms of technique and learning the defense.”
Saunders added that “[Harmon] can still get a lot better, but I think he’s in line for a special rookie season.”
That was after day one. After day two, not much changed on the Harmon front.
“I didn’t get a good look at it yesterday, but it was definitive today that while Derrick Harmon started in the base 3-4 defense, he came off the field for Nickel defender Juan Thornhill, with Keeanu Benton and Cam Heyward staying on as three-techniques,” Saunders noted on Friday. Continuing: “But I’m not sure that will last forever. I heard from one team source that Harmon is already the team’s second-best interior pass rusher.”
And the Steelers Now beat reporter wasn’t the only one who noticed the first-round pick over the first two days of training camp.
Steelers ‘Aren’t Wasting Any Time’ With Derrick Harmon
The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo dedicated an entire section of his July 25 write-up for Harmon, too. Although he reported that Harmon was on the field for a few pass-rushing snaps as well.
“The Steelers aren’t wasting any time getting first-round pick Derrick Harmon into action,” DeFabo began. “The former Oregon Duck has stepped right into the starting lineup as the 4i technique (inside shoulder of the tackle) on the defensive left, where he’s often alongside T.J. Watt.”
“Maybe more notably, when the Steelers go to their four-man front in sub packages, Harmon has been one of the two interior defensive linemen,” the Pittsburgh beat reporter continued, contrary to Saunders. “Odds are, the Steelers will rotate Cameron Heyward, Keeanu Benton and Harmon on the interior when they’re in nickel or dime, as they have through two days of camp.”
“It will be interesting to watch which of these players gets the most playing time as the season unfolds. Because Harmon brings pass-rush upside (he led all FBS interior defensive linemen in pressures with 55 last year, according to PFF), he has the requisite skillset to be a three-down contributor,” DeFabo concluded.
It should be fun watching Harmon mix into this ferocious Steelers front.
Steelers Begin Moving T.J. Watt Around at Training Camp
Speaking of pass rushers, there are still none more important than Watt on this roster. And the Steelers began moving their newly minted $123 million man around the defense this week.
“So much chatter has surrounded T.J. Watt moving around the formation to create favorable matchups,” veteran beat reporter Mark Kaboly (Pat McAfee Show) wrote on July 25.
Continuing: “It didn’t take long for the experiment to begin. Even though he hasn’t been around the team since January, the Steelers rolled out a wrinkle of Watt lining up inside on the B gap before dropping into coverage on this particular play. Maybe they are serious this year [about] keeping Watt free of double teams and chips?”
With Harmon, Watt, Heyward, Alex Highsmith and several others at his disposal, not to mention all the new faces in the secondary, this will truly be a year where head coach Mike Tomlin gets to prove himself as a defensive mastermind.
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