The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Ohio State EDGE Jack Sawyer with the No. 123 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and he’s a player the team did a lot of homework on during the pre-draft process. Speaking to the media after the Sawyer selection, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said that the team had a formal interview with Sawyer at the Combine, dinner with him ahead of Ohio State’s Pro Day, and got rave reviews from people at Ohio State about him as a player and person.

“We had him for a formal interview at the Combine, was at his Pro Day, I missed the dinner, we had dinner with him the night before. But all the things you talk about and the people I know at Ohio State and being around him, they all say that he is exactly what you want in a football player. But there is no question about the football character. And obviously you watch the tape like we do, scouts had a really good high opinion of him,” Austin said Saturday via the team’s YouTube channel.

EDGE didn’t jump off the page among the list of Steelers’ needs, but they dealt with injuries at the position last season, with Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig missing multiple games. Jeremiah Moon also doesn’t provide a lot of pass-rush juice, and he was slated as the fourth outside linebacker heading into the draft.

Adding a player in Sawyer who had 23 sacks in four seasons at Ohio State, including nine in 2024, should give the Steelers another option to rush the passer and also potentially take some of the load off Watt and Highsmith.

Last season, Sawyer had 59 tackles, nine tackles for a loss, nine sacks, an interception and seven passes defensed along with three fumbles recoveries and three forced fumbles. He measured in at 6042 and 260 pounds with 31 1/4″ arms at the Combine, which is decent size to come off the edge in Pittsburgh’s 3-4 base defense. He’s also a strong run defender as well pass rusher, and that’s an area where he can make an impact in the NFL.

Pittsburgh chooses who its meet swith at the Combine wisely, and it’s not a surprise when the team winds up drafting one of those players. Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan are also extremely active on the Pro Day trail, and both were in attendance at Ohio State and presumably a part of the dinner with Jack Sawyer ahead of his Pro Day.

He’s a player who seems to fit in with what the Steelers value defensively and what they like in the locker room, and he should be able to learn and develop in a strong EDGE room.