Top 5 new Steelers in 2025 who will make the most impact
On the most recent episode of The Scho Bro Show podcast, Big Bro Scho and I began our summer series of Top 5 Lists. To kick things off, we did a top five list we had not done before as we ranked our top players who are new to the Steelers in 2025 who will make the most impact this season. It did not matter if the player was acquired via free agency, drafted, an undrafted free agent, or acquired via trade, The only requirement was they were not with the Steelers last season.
As expected, there were many names that overlapped on our list, but none were the exact same ranking for both of us. The same three players landed in our top three with the order being somewhat different: DK Metcalf, Darius Slay, and Derrick Harmon. The other player who appeared on both of our lists was rookie running back to Kaleb Johnson.
To start, let’s look at the top five players who were new to the Steelers this season who will make the most impact according to my brother Rich…
Big Bro Scho:
1. DK Metcalf
2. Derrick Harmon
3. Darius Slay
4. Kaleb Johnson
5. Robert Woods/Mason Rudolph
It’s hard to argue against the selection of DK Metcalf, and expectations are high with first round draft pick Derrick Harmon. What makes Harmon so unique compared to the last few first round draft picks for the Steelers is he plays a position that typically has a rotation. Because of this, Harmon could expect to get playing time early in the season even if his snaps are being intentionally limited.
Rich included a tie in the fifth spot because both players represent something similar at their respective positions. At this time of the offseason, Mason Rudolph is a new acquisition who is the top quarterback on the roster. This may not be the case when the regular season rolls around, but it was worth mentioning him here simply because of the possibility. This was also true of wide receiver Robert Woods, who would be listed as one of the top three receivers on the Steelers death chart at this time for those who are attempting to make such a thing. But if the Steelers make another acquisition at receiver, then the impact felt by Woods would be severely affected. Both of these players are ones who could make an impact this year but could have hardly any impact at all if the Steelers add other players at the position.
Now let’s dive into my list…
Dave:
1. Darius Slay
2. DK Metcalf
3. Derrick Harmon
4. Juan Thornhill
5. Kaleb Johnson
The first thing that should jump out to people is the fact that I put Darius Slay on top of my list. When it came to differentiating between Slay, Metcalf, and Harmon, I looked at how much more of an impact they would have compared to the player they were replacing from 2024. For Derrick Harmon, his impact might be felt much more beyond 2025 but for this year he needs to be an upgrade from Larry Ogunjobi. DK Metcalf projects to make a huge impact when he was first added, but now that he is in place of George Pickens rather than playing alongside him, it changes the perception.
For me, I believe the Steelers made a major upgrade at outside cornerback with the addition of Darius Slay. I think many Steelers fans are brushing off this acquisition because they still feel burnt from two years ago when the Steelers added Patrick Peterson. The difference with Peterson is he was already starting to show decline before he got to Pittsburgh. Even though Slay is 34 years old, he has yet to show that he is slowing down. For this reason, the Steelers could have a huge upgrade at cornerback making Darius Slay’s impact seen more than any other new player this season.
So what do you think? Which list do you like better? What would be your top five list of new Steelers in 2025 who will make the most impact? Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below.
To hear a full breakdown o this topic and more, check out the episode of The Scho Bro Show podcast below:
I slightly prefer Rich’s list. Mine:
Now, do I replace Rudolph with AARod?!? I’ll say here he’d damn well better!
I’m not sure if I would have Kaleb Johnson even in a Top 5. Jaylen Warren is back with a contract that will pay him over $5 million. That’s pretty good money for a RB in today’s NFL and I suspect that the Steelers won’t want that investment on the bench all year. Add to that the free agent signing of Kenneth Gainwell and it would appear that the Steelers are set up for a classic “running back by committee”. I am not sure that Kaleb Johnson is going to get enough carries to make a significant impact. Maybe with an injury or something?
I know he’s not “new” in 2025 but Troy Fautanu will be kind of new given how little he played last year. I might have him on the top of any list of people who did nothing for the Steelers last year who will contribute mightily this year.
So you replace Johnson with Fautanu, okay. Where do you see Fautanu, 1-5?
By that logic, Jaylen Warren wasn’t impactful in 2024. He wasn’t the main guy and wasn’t in a running back by committee, so he had very little impact?
My point is KJ could easily have “Jaylen Warren 2024” impact in 2025. He doesn’t have to be the top guy in the room to land on the list.
(And Fautanu doesn’t qualify- he’ll be in a different category for a future list)
Note also KJ’s potential impact on play-action, short routes from backfield, and pass blocking.
a true Pittsburgh Steelers fan, since the 70’s I hope Mason Rudolph and Cory Trice Jr. show everybody they can make a impact right away
Guess not Mason, Ed.
Dave is my exact 5, just different order. I see the logic behind Slay being that high though.