Defensive lineman Yahya Black was drafted by the Steelers in the fifth-round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the 164th overall pick, and big man made the most of his rookie season.
Black played in 17 games, starting three of them. He finished the season with 28 tackles, including 10 solo stops, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a pass defensed.
Black really stepped up when fellow rookie Derrick Harmon missed playing time, doing his part to make sure the defense never missed a beat.
"I just need to do my job," said Black at the time. "It comes down to there's opportunity that's open and you have to just take a hold of it and run with it.
"There's an opportunity and there's guys that got to step up. And I'm one of them.
"I'm ready for it.
"I want to bring the same energy, the technique, the fundamentals. That Steelers defense that I've really come to learn."
Black continued to improve throughout the season, something defensive tackle Cameron Heyward noticed.
"I think Yahya is ready," said Heyward during the season. "Yahya is getting more comfortable in his alignment, playing with better extension. He's coming away with some big plays for us. That fumble (vs. Chicago). He just ripped it from the guy's arms. You need that from your young guys who are continuing to learn.
"But he's in the right spot. You're starting to see him use more extension and it's making more of a dent in the line of scrimmage."
Black made a huge play against the Chicago Bears when he forced a D'Andre Smith fumble and came up with the recovery, leaving everyone wide-eyed.
"All you see is some big creepy hands, just getting hands on the ball and start the prowl at it," said Heyward of the play. "When he came up with it, we were all kind of surprised, and I think the refs were a little bit confused.
"But you love it on our side of the ball. We talk about getting the ball away and whatever it takes. And Yahya was able to come away with it."
Black started all 13 games in 2024 at Iowa, making 27 career starts, while recording 34 tackles, 18 of them solo stops his final season. He had seven tackles for a loss, one sack, two passes defensed, two quarterback pressures and one blocked field goal.
In 2023 he started all 14 games, recording 51 tackles, 22 of them solo stops. He added five tackles for a loss and three and a half sacks. He also had five passes defensed, two quarterback pressures and one forced fumble.
