No bull: Isaiahh Loudermilk shows as rookie what Steelers saw in trading up to draft him

Despite his Great Plains roots and an alma mater in America’s dairyland, Isaiahh Loudermilk’s choice of home décor isn’t supposed to represent a vocation of life passion as a rancher or farmer.

Loudermilk laughed when he was asked this past week if there was significance to a black-and-white framed photo of a horned bull hanging on his wall and serving as a background for a video conference call with media.

“No, just a decoration I found at Target,” Loudermilk said, “and I liked it.”

Factoring in Loudermilk’s status as a fifth-round pick, his rookie season for the Pittsburgh Steelers was right on target.

A 6-foot-7, 240-pound defensive lineman, Loudermilk not only made the team and stayed on the 53-man roster all season (no small accomplishment for someone taken No. 156 overall), he worked his way into a meaningful part of the rotation on the defensive line by the end of the season.

At a position in need of an infusion of talented youth, Loudermilk did nothing as a rookie to disprove he has the look of a possible future starter.

“I think he’s going to end up being a pretty good player for us,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said earlier this month. “It’s just a process that he’s going through right now to become a good player.”

Isaiahh Loudermilk evaluating his rookie season as a Steelers DL-man pic.twitter.com/GaOBMyzub7

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) January 20, 2022

A native of Kansas who played in college at Wisconsin, Loudermilk finished his rookie season with 23 tackles (16 solo), three pass knock-downs and a sack in playing 29% of the Steelers’ defensive snaps. After being a healthy scratch in Week 1, Loudermilk played in 17 of the Steelers’ final 18 games — including a career-high three tackles during their playoff loss last week at the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Steelers’ clearly saw something they liked in Loudermilk, targeting him in last year’s draft to the point that they surrendered a 2022 fourth-round pick when the Miami Dolphins were on the clock in the fifth round.

But even if Steelers coaches saw what they believed to be an ideal fit in their scheme for Loudermilk — the phrase “reminds me of Cameron Heyward” was thrown out more than once — they couldn’t have envisioned Loudermilk playing a significant role as a rookie.

After all, the Steelers entered 2021 with a strong veteran-laden starting defensive line of Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu. But while Heyward again was an All-Pro in 2021, Alualu and Tuitt combined for just one full game between them because of injury.

“Coming in, I wasn’t sure, really, what to expect,” Loudermilk said of his rookie season. “I knew if I would get some playing time it wouldn’t be a whole lot. And then everything kind of happened, injuries and stiff like that, so I kind of got thrown out there. I was prepared for pretty much anything, but I wouldn’t say I was really expecting to get as much as I did. But kind of glad I did. I feel like I grew a lot as a player, actually being able to go out there and play.”

“Having these snaps, I am extremely happy I get those. … I am going to try to make the most of it,” said #Steelers defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk. https://t.co/SRn7moLKHW

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) November 7, 2021

By the end of the season, Loudermilk had shown enough that he regularly was serving as the top backup on the defensive line. He had scaled the depth chart of a handful of more experienced players who began the season ahead of him, even showing enough value the Steelers could feel comfortable in releasing third-year lineman Isaiah Buggs.

Loudermilk’s rookie season was far from perfect, but it did show what the Steelers apparently liked about him: his length, on-field savvy and a slippery ability to shed blockers. After being thought of as a longer-term “project” when drafted, Loudermilk showed in 2021 that he can fit in, at worst, as a rotational NFL defensive lineman.

“I’m looking for him to take the next step,” Heyward said, adding that he liked what he saw from Loudermilk. “But there’s more to be done. What I’ve liked is great, but what I’m expecting is even better.”

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