The Steelers have a new running mate for first-round pick Derrick Harmon, with the team selecting Iowa defensive tackle Yahya Black in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft after trading down eight spots with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Black is a massive, run-stuffing nose tackle standing at 6’6, 336 pounds. More impressive are his 35” arms, which give him a sizable tackling radius and the ability to bat down passes (including a blocked field goal last season).

Black is incredibly strong at the line of scrimmage and one of the best in this year’s class when two-gapping against the run. However, with just a 3.57 RAS, he doesn’t bring a ton of athletic upside and doesn’t offer much as a pass rusher entering the NFL.

Black spent five years at Iowa, putting up solid production in his last three seasons. Still, he’s just 22 years old. He’s not the most versatile or exciting player, but he’s a great run-stopping addition to the Steelers’ defensive line who plays with a hot motor and the football IQ of an experienced defender.

Plus, he already looks great in the black and gold and joins Iowa teammate running back Kaleb Johnson in the Steelers’ 2025 rookie class (and former D-line-mate Logan Lee on the Pittsburgh roster).

important note: Yahya Black pronounces his name WHY-YE.

He says it get misprounced all the time: “Maaaann. I've heard Yaya, Yahweh, Yaha, Johanna. Logan Lee will tell you it's Yohanna. He loves calling me that.”

Lee and Black were teammate at Iowa.

— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) April 26, 2025

You can read more about Black in my March scouting report HERE.