Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick DL Derrick Harmon has had a solid rookie season. He’s been stout against the run, chased the ball hard, and was honored Wednesday with the Joe Greene Great Performance Award as the Steelers’ top rookie. That doesn’t mean that Harmon’s season was without bumps. Not just for the injuries he faced, but the battles against some of football’s top offensive linemen.
In accepting the award, Harmon revealed his welcome to the NFL moment.
“I’d say when Quenton Nelson caught me on that slide,” Harmon said via the team website. “But it was good because T.J. got the sack. He caught my hop on that. I ain’t see it coming. It was good, it was a good play.”
Here’s a look at the play with Harmon aligned as the left defensive tackle. Uncovered offensive linemen are often the most dangerous, and Nelson had no one to block. So he “found work” and found Harmon.
As Harmon said, he can take comfort in knowing the positive outcome of the play. Watt strip-sacked QB Daniel Jones and completed the play by recovering the football. It was one of six turnovers on the day.
Harmon told reporters he knows there are no days off in the NFL compared to the college game, which often has “tune-up” games against lesser opponents.
“Everybody’s elite,” he said. “That’s one thing I kinda figured out early.”
Few are better than Nelson. There’s no shame in getting “slabbed” by him on this play. Harmon’s season has been about drawing attention from others so that teammates can make plays. On this rep, Watt was left one-on-one with the right tackle and made a game-changing play. Most of Harmon’s other reps have been taking on double-teams and holding the point of attack to free up his linebackers behind. A job he’s done well and one the team has missed when Harmon has been forced out of the lineup.
No longer a rookie in 2026, Harmon will look to catch a future first-year player off guard.