Feeling he needed a change of scenery, Derrick Harmon left the comforts of home, flew across the country and spent a season on the West Coast. All to prove he had the potential to be a high NFL draft pick.
If some draft experts are correct, Harmon’s future will involve a much shorter commute. A four-hour car ride from Detroit to Pittsburgh.
A 6-foot-4, 313-pound defensive lineman from Oregon, Harmon has been mocked to the Steelers by several publications and draftniks, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. among them.
In many regards, the union makes perfect sense. The Steelers are eager to remake an aging defensive line, and Harmon is arguably the best first-round prospect that will be available for taking with the No. 21 pick.
“I thought he would be a good guy to help the line and learn from Cameron Heyward,” Kiper said of his decision to slot Harmon to the Steelers. “I see a lot of similarities there. He’s got great character, size, arm length. He made a lot of disruptive plays at Oregon.”
Harmon also is the highest-rated defensive lineman to make an official top-30 visit with the Steelers. The team brought eight such prospects to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex but did not invite two other players with first-round grades: Mississippi’s Walter Nolen and Michigan’s Kenneth Grant.
Harmon also spoke with coach Mike Tomlin at the NFL Combine.
“That’s a guy you can sit down and have an hour talk with, two-hour talk with,” Harmon said in late February. “He’s a guy you can talk ball with, talk life. Just a great guy to talk to.”
Raised by a single mother in Detroit, Harmon enrolled at Michigan State and spent his first three seasons in East Lansing. He played in 28 games and started a combined 24 games over his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons. He totaled 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss over those two years.
“At Michigan State, he was good, but not great,” Kiper said. “There were games where he was quiet and you didn’t notice him.”
Harmon elected to pack up and leave his family behind. It was a difficult decision. He entered the transfer portal once before changing his mind. After spring practice last year, he re-entered and headed to Oregon.
“I feel like it was the best fit for me,” Harmon said. “It was hard because I was 2,000 miles away from Michigan. That was probably hardest decision that I’ve had to make, but I had to make it for my future.”
At Oregon, Harmon got invaluable experience playing in a three-down front. He started 13 of 14 games, recorded five sacks and had 10.5 tackles for loss. Pro Football Focus graded Harmon as having the best pass rush productivity of any lineman in college football.
“I was really a four-down, tight front at Michigan State,” Harmon said. “Going on the way to Oregon and playing the 4-I, sometimes the five or the six over the tight end, I really didn’t do that much before, but it showed how versatile I can be and will be at the next level.”
Harmon opted out of returning for his senior year and declared for the draft after the Ducks’ exit from the college football playoffs.
“That was a great move, him going to Oregon,” Kiper said. “It benefited him tremendously.”
Harmon is among the deepest defensive line group in a decade. According to NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, this could rival the 2016 class when 14 defensive tackles were selected among the top 100 picks. No draft class since has produced more than 11 in the top 100, he wrote.
“There should be four first-rounders who could all become stars,” Zierlein wrote. “But the most impressive part of this group is how many quality starters it is likely to produce. … The run on tackles should be hot and heavy throughout Day 2 of the draft. The position is not only deep but also filled with more pass-rush potential than we usually see.”
Michigan’s Mason Graham is the elite defensive tackle prospect, and he is expected to be taken in the top 10. Harmon, Nolen and Grant round out the first-round group.
“It’s a great draft,” ESPN’s Field Yates said. “They come in all shapes and sizes.”
Nolen is the lightest among the first-round prospects, weighing 296 pounds at the combine. Grant is the biggest, tipping the scales at 331 pounds after being heavier during the college season.
The Steelers haven’t taken a true nose tackle in the first round since 2001 when they selected Casey Hampton, who played on two Super Bowl championship teams. But after giving up 299 yards rushing in a playoff loss to Baltimore and with Heyward turning 36 in May, the Steelers could use a player of Grant’s size in the middle of the defensive line.
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“He’s got the ability and the tools to do some unique stuff, and he has not come close to scratching the surface of his potential,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “I would have no problem whatsoever if the Steelers made that pick; I’d be pretty pumped up about it if I were a Steelers fan.”