Just after the Juan Thornhill signing was announced, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reported that the Pittsburgh Steelers have also re-signed former fifth-round pick and veteran defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk.
“Free-agent defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk is returning to the Steelers on a one-year deal, per source,” Fowler relayed. “Loudermilk, drafted by the team in 2021, had 17 tackles as a rotational piece last year.”
And that’s exactly where Loudermilk will slot in again in 2025, back into head coach Mike Tomlin’s “rotation” of interior defensive linemen.
Standing at 6-foot-7, Loudermilk has an imposing frame that hasn’t quite translated onto the stat sheet early in his career. Through his first four years, the former Wisconsin product only has 1.0 sack and 1 tackle for a loss despite suiting up for 61 NFL outings (including playoffs).
One area Loudermilk has produced — at least to some degree — has been batting passes down at the line of scrimmage. The 27-year-old has been credited with 6 pass defenses over his first four seasons, which is a decent amount for an interior defensive lineman who doesn’t get a ton of snaps.
Steelers Still Expected to Draft Defensive Line Help in 2025
The Loudermilk reunion provides some more depth on the defensive line, and that’s never a bad thing, but it’s also fair to assume that Pittsburgh won’t be banking on a breakout campaign with this re-signing.
They must bring in more impact players on the D-line, and the belief is that the Steelers will do so in the draft.
Coach Tomlin was seen scouting defensive line prospects as early as the Senior Bowl, and it’s expected to be a strong draft class in this area. All that adds up to Pittsburgh attacking the position with a rookie or two.
They might even spend their first-round pick on one of the top defensive tackles in the draft, if the right player falls to them at No. 21 overall.
Gang’s All Back Together on Steelers Defensive Line — Mostly
As mentioned above, the Steelers could still add defensive linemen in the draft, but for now, the 2025 unit is pretty much all back together outside of Larry Ogunjobi — who was released and then suspended.
Cameron Heyward still leads this unit as the veteran presence and locker room leader, but he turns 36 years old in May, so the Steelers know they must replace him sooner rather than later.
The issue is, they’ve been trying to do that for quite some time.
Recent draft picks like Keeanu Benton, DeMarvin Leal (transition to EDGE), Loudermilk and Logan Lee have failed to stand out in various roles on the Steelers DL. Granted, they weren’t all drafted to replace Heyward, but Pittsburgh surely hoped at least one or two of them would develop into quality starters that could anchor the unit once the long-tenured vet eventually retires.
Outside of Heyward, who earned an elite 90.1 grade on Pro Football Focus, the marks weren’t pretty for this group.
Benton’s grade was solid but unspectacular with a 69.5 overall and a 47.4 in run defense. Not to mention seven missed tackles, leading to a tackling score of 38.6.
Behind him, the overall grades (out of 100.0) ranked as follows: Loudermilk (59.3), Ogunjobi (48.3), Montravius Adams (44.2), and Dean Lowry (34.3). Fellow rostered defensive linemen like Lee, Jacob Slade and Domenique Davis did not log any snaps in 2024.
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