The NFL Draft will take place outside Acrisure Stadium on April 23-25. In advance of the event, we have spent this week looking back at each of the 25 Pittsburgh Steelers’ drafts in the history of the building.

Every day this week, we have examined each of those draft classes and picked the best player from each group. Friday’s entry concludes the retrospective by looking at the Steelers’ five most recent drafts, from 2021-25.

On Monday, we’ll rank the Steelers’ 25 best draft picks since the stadium opened.

2021: Pat Freiermuth | Round 2, Pick 55 (TE, Penn State)

First-round pick Najee Harris looked like he was going to be exactly what the doctor ordered. The Steelers needed a running back, and he was the best back in the draft.

But the never-draft-running-back-in-the-first-round crowd walked away saying, “Told ya so.” After a strong rookie year (1,667 yards from scrimmage, 10 total touchdowns), Harris’ production started to drop. The Alabama product left Pittsburgh averaging just under 4 yards per carry. His fifth-year option wasn’t picked up.

Freiermuth, meanwhile, also had a great rookie season for a tight end (60 catches, 497 yards, seven touchdowns) and continued to be good enough long enough to earn a $48 million contract before the 2025 season.

It also helps that Zach Frazier has come along to solidify the center position, so we can stop looking at Freiermuth and playing the what-if game about Creed Humphrey.

This isn’t a slam dunk pick for Freiermuth. Some injuries in 2023, and losing Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback while having Matt Canada and Arthur Smith as his coordinators, probably had something to do with that. Plus, Harris did have four 1,000-yard seasons before leaving for the Los Angeles Chargers last year.

As for the rest of the class, Kendrick Green ended up being a disaster at center. Dan Moore Jr. was just good enough to create confusion at tackle and eventually get himself overpaid in Tennessee.

As big as Isaiahh Loudermilk was, he never grew into a regular role, and Presley Harvin III proved to be a punter that didn’t need to be drafted.

• Najee Harris | Round 1, Pick 24 (RB, Alabama)

• Kendrick Green | Round 3, Pick 87 (OG/C, Illinois)

• Dan Moore | Round 4, Pick 128 (OT, Texas A&M)

• Buddy Johnson | Round 4, Pick 140 (ILB, Texas A&M)

• Isaiahh Loudermilk | Round 5, Pick 156 (DE, Wisconsin)

• Quincy Roche | Round 6, Pick 216 (OLB, Miami (FL)

• Tre Norwood | Round 7, Pick 245 (DB, Oklahoma)

• Pressley Harvin III | Round 7, Pick 254 (P, Ga. Tech)

2022: George Pickens | Round 2, Pick 52 (WR, Georgia)

So much was invested in Kevin Colbert’s final draft class and so little was reaped from it. It’s just four years later, and the whole class is gone (although undrafted free agent Jaylen Warren remains at running back).

Even if he was maddeningly inconsistent and emotionally unhinged, Pickens was clearly the best Steeler while he was here (2,841 yards, 174 yards, 12 touchdowns) from the class. Based on his first year in Dallas, he’ll be the best pro for the rest of his career as well, provided he doesn’t get in his own way.

Which he did here, way too often.

But at least Pickens had skill. Kenny Pickett proved to be grossly overvalued. DeMarvin Leal was a tweener who couldn’t stay healthy or find a fit. Calvin Austin’s injuries and size were too much to overcome. Connor Heyward was a versatile piece but not impactful often enough. Mark Robinson could hit like a truck but never figured out the defense.

And Chris Oladokun is a Super Bowl champion … twice.

• Kenny Pickett | Round 1, Pick 20 (QB, Pittsburgh)

• DeMarvin Leal | Round 3, Pick 84 (DL/OLB Texas A&M)

• Calvin Austin | Round 4, Pick 138 (WR, Memphis)

• Connor Heyward | Round 6, Pick 208 (TE/FB, Michigan State)

• Mark Robinson | Round 7, Pick 225 (ILB, Ole Miss)

• Chris Oladokun | Round 7, Pick 241 (QB, South Dakota State)

2023: Nick Herbig | Round 4, Pick 132 (OLB, Wisconsin)

If we do this exercise again next year, maybe it’ll be Joey Porter Jr. He appears to be back on a positive trajectory after some sophomore stumbles. They followed an initial season that placed him in the top five for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

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Herbig, though, has gotten consistently better every year. With injuries to T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith the last few years, he’s up to 11 starts and 16 sacks. He’s also forced nine fumbles, recovered four and recorded an interception.

The run defense still needs improvement, and I don’t know if he’ll be a player who becomes overexposed as a full-time starter. Maybe he’s still not good enough to supplant Watt or Highsmith, but at least it feels like he’s pushing to do that.

And he was a steal to get in the fourth round.

I still feel like there is more to be tapped from Keeanu Benton. He’s a good player, but I’ve never been as sold on his alleged high ceiling as some others who cover the team. The club has already gotten a lot of mileage out of Darnell Washington and Spencer Anderson in the roles they play along the offensive front.

So, for now, the rest of the draft class is doing a lot of heavy lifting to make us feel better about the collective, given that first-rounder Broderick Jones has been too often mismanaged, misused, injured and perhaps overrated.

• Broderick Jones | Round 1, Pick 14 (OT, Georgia)

• Joey Porter Jr. | Round 2, Pick 32 (CB, Penn State)

• Keeanu Benton | Round 2, Pick 49 (DL, Wisconsin)

• Darnell Washington | Round 3, Pick 93 (TE, Georgia)

• Cory Trice | Round 7, Pick 241 (CB, Purdue)

• Spencer Anderson | Round 7, Pick 251 (OL, Maryland)

2024: Zach Frazier | Round 2, Pick 51 (C, West Virginia)

Similar to 2023, check back with me next year, and maybe first-rounder Troy Fautanu is leading the parade. But he’s only had one good season so far, thanks to essentially getting an injury redshirt during his rookie year.

Frazier, however, has been very good both seasons at center. His rookie year wasn’t quite Pouncey-esque at the position, and I don’t have Dawson/Webster delusions yet. But the former WVU Mountaineer looks like he’s going to be a starter at the position for a long time.

Mason McCormick is on a similar path at guard. Like Herbig the previous season, he was quite a find in the fourth round.

Roman Wilson has been a washout so far, and Payton Wilson is in Keeanu Benton territory, where we keep trying to talk him into more than he has been — but at least there’s still hope that will happen.

• Troy Fautanu | Round 1, Pick 20 (OT, Washington)

• Roman Wilson | Round 3, Pick 84 (WR, Michigan)

• Payton Wilson | Round 3, Pick 98 (ILB, NC State)

• Mason McCormick | Round 4, Pick 119 (OG, South Dakota State)

• Logan Lee | Round 6, Pick 178 (DL, Iowa)

• Ryan Watts | Round 6, Pick 195 (DB, Texas)

2025: Derrick Harmon | Round 1, Pick 21 (DT, Oregon)

Harmon got the Joe Greene award for the best performance turned in by a Steelers rookie last year. And, yeah, it should probably go to him. Jack Sawyer and Yahya Black were both solid contributors in reserve roles and appear to be above-average mid-round picks. Plus, Carson Bruener could be the next Miles Killebrew on special teams for years to come.

But not as much was asked of them as was the case when Harmon was healthy enough to play. In those five games Harmon missed, the Steelers allowed 165.6 yards per game on the ground. In the 12 other regular-season games with Harmon, they gave up 91.16. That’s what he was brought to Pittsburgh to do.

The fact that Kaleb Johnson, Will Howard and Donte Kent had rookie seasons that were practically nonexistent hurts the overall evaluation of the class.

But I’m sure we’ll all have a different opinion 20 years from now when Howard is inducted into the Hall of Fame, as the Steelers spin machine would have us believe.

•Kaleb Johnson| Round 3, Pick 83 (RB, Iowa)

•Jack Sawyer| Round 4, Pick 123 (OLD/DE Ohio State)

•Yahya Black| Round 5, Pick 164 (DT, Iowa)

• Will Howard | Round 6, Pick 185 (QB, Ohio State)

• Carson Bruener | Round 7, Pick 226 (LB, Washington)

• Donte Kent | Round 7, Pick 229 (DB, Kent)

Listen: Tim Benz and Chris Adamski discuss the 2026 draft at the rest of the Steelers offseason

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