In his evaluation of the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers draft, Mark Madden of TribLive and 105.9 The X likes most of the picks. But one specific selection stands out.

“The pick I find in particular to be intriguing is Jack Sawyer — The Modern Day Warrior — from Ohio State, the edge rusher,” Madden said during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. “Because now, if you want to, if you have a franchise that actually has (fortitude), you can play hardball with T.J. Watt. You can make him play out his deal.”

With Sawyer joining Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig as capable outside linebackers, Madden says that gives the Steelers options when it comes to Watt’s contract negotiations in advance of his expected extension this summer.

“You can franchise him next year. You can trade him if he’s grotesquely unhappy,” Madden continued. “But now they have so much depth at edge rusher, with most teams, part of the purpose of drafting Sawyer would be to affect the position (that) I’m talking about with the guy that has one year left on his contract.”

Sawyer started all 16 games last year and registered 59 tackles, nine sacks, an interception, and six pass breakups. He had 6.5 sacks as a junior.

Kaleb Johnson is the third-round draft choice at running back out of Iowa. Madden also gave a thumbs-up to that choice, even though Johnson isn’t a speed burner.

“That’s not the kind of back they want,” Madden insisted. “They wanted a replacement for Najee Harris. I think even though this guy went in the third, and Najee went in the first, I’d rather have this guy.”

In Johnson, the Steelers are getting a 6-foot-1, 224-pound back who rushed for a career-high 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns last year, and added two more receiving.

The one pick Madden didn’t seem to like was when the Steelers took Ohio State quarterback Will Howard in the sixth round.

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“I don’t see the point,” Madden said of the pick. “Get some bum off the streets (to be a third-stringer). You are going to pick your long-term quarterback next year, right? This is a wasted pick. And here’s the danger. What if he comes in and plays just well enough that they don’t make that pick to solve the quarterback problem?”

Also during the podcast, Madden and I discuss Shedeur Sanders’ epic drop in the draft over the weekend, we talk about why Madden is underwhelmed by the NHL playoffs, some recent changes for the better with the Pirates, and Liverpool’s championship.