Steelers notes: Derrick Harmon impresses in debut, offense strives for more Metcalf touches

Nick Herbig beamed like a proud older brother while in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room Thursday.

Rookie Derrick Harmon had just gotten his attention, and it made Herbig reminisce about when he too was a rookie making his first big play.

“Shout out my boy ‘D-Harm,’” Herbig said. “He got his first sack. And I know that feeling; it’s a great feeling.”

And while Herbig in 2023 had to wait six games for his first tackle of an NFL quarterback, Harmon did so in his NFL debut. The Steelers’ first-round pick, Harmon missed the first two games of the season because of a knee injury but made a quick impact this past Sunday in his first game.

Harmon had the aforementioned sack of Drake Maye — in addition to another solo tackle — during the Steelers’ 21-14 win at the New England Patriots.

“You saw all the stuff we thought we were getting at camp,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said of Harmon. “He’s got good mobility. He’s slippery off of blocks. He can do some different things. The biggest thing with him right now is just the conditioning, but it was good to see him out there and see him kind of pick up where he left off at camp.”

Austin noted that Harmon had not played in a live game in four weeks and had only three practices — two during which he was a mere limited participant — in the leadup to his first NFL game.

Harmon played 35 snaps Sunday.

“Just to come in like that and make an instant impact, you don’t see that a lot from rookie,” Herbig said. “So I’m super excited for him and his future.”

Lots of upside

With two starters working their way back into the lineup and a handful of relative newcomers still assimilating into the group, Austin said the Steelers’ secondary has yet to scratch the surface of its potential.

“There’s a nice, high ceiling in that room because we have talent, but we also have veterans,” Austin said. “We have some good young talent, and I think the mix of all that. As you play and jell together, to me the secondary is a lot like an offensive line. You have to get to learn to play together because of all the intricacies that go on with your group. I just think they have an opportunity to really get better.”

More targets coming

There are 55 NFL players — 42 of them, wide receivers — who have been targeted with more passes so far this season than DK Metcalf.

On the surface, that’s not exactly what the Steelers envisioned when they traded a second-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks to acquire Metcalf nor what they expected after signing him to a five-year, $150 million deal.

Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith defends the lack of overall catch production from Metcalf and WR2 Calvin Austin III in part by pointing out that they each have two touchdowns and that the offense relatively hasn’t had all that many opportunities to get them the ball.

“Just look at our numbers,” Smith said. “We haven’t had many plays in three games. There’s a variety of reasons…. When you get in these low-possession games and you’re not having a ton of plays, that’s kind of the unintended consequences of it.”

Smith assured that Metcalf is the primary option on plenty of passing play calls.

“We just need more plays, and (getting Metcalf touches) will naturally work itself out,” Smith said. “The positive spin is he’s got a couple touchdowns, which is good. Those guys are scoring.”