Summer 2024 Scouting Series: Defensive Line

Our Summer Scouting Series here at Steelers Depot returns as we highlight 2024 NFL Draft prospects that are making waves before the start of the 2023 college football season. This year, we’ll highlight several position groups the Steelers may be interested in, as well as three to four names Pittsburgh may be interested in once the pre-draft process gets underway.

#55 MASON GRAHAM, DL, MICHIGAN (JUNIOR) – 6-3, 318 POUNDS

Michigan DL Mason Graham enters the 2024 season as a true junior but is considered by many to be the best IDL prospect in the country. The Anaheim, California native committed to play for the Wolverines out of high school, where he was a four-star recruit and started two games as a true freshman in 2022 before becoming a full-time starter in 2023. He was named Second-Team All-American and First-Team All-Big Ten for his performance last season. He posted 36 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass breakup.

What stands out about Graham on the footage is his unique blend of size and power on offense, but also his speed for his size. He can sit in gaps, take blocks, and fight to clog running lanes as a defensive tackle/base defensive end. Yet he possesses the agility of a player 50 pounds less, and can stop, start, and change direction with ease.

His sack production wasn’t mind-blowing in 2023, but he was significantly more disruptive on video, beating blocks quickly and getting into the backfield to pressure the quarterback. He has a similar build and play style to DL Braden Fiske, who was drafted in the second round by the Los Angeles Rams this year, and Pittsburgh showed a lot of interest in the Florida State Seminole. Graham may be a bit smaller than Pittsburgh likes as a 3-4 DE, but he has the athleticism and skills to fit in there quite well.

#99 RYLIE MILLS, DL, NOTRE DAME (R-SENIOR) – 6-5, 306 POUNDS

When Alex Kozora makes his draft predictions, you better pay attention. Two years ago, he tossed DL Keeanu Benton to Pittsburgh before the Senior Bowl and correctly rated him as a player Pittsburgh should target. Last year, he jumped fully on the C Zach Frazier bandwagon at the start of pre-draft season and correctly rated him as Pittsburgh’s potential center of the future.

This year, Kozora wasted no time in taking his chance on a player he believes could interest Pittsburgh in the 2025 NFL Draft: Notre Dame DL Rylie Mills.

Mills enters his fifth season with the Fighting Irish after recording 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks over the past three seasons. He recorded just 2.5 sacks in 2023, but he has proven to be an athletic defensive lineman who can pressure the passer and hold his own against the run. Mills has played both on the edge and inside and possesses the size (6-5, 306 pounds) that Pittsburgh has coveted in the 3-4 DEs for many years.

He needs to continue to fill out his long frame and add more playmaking power, but Mills has the skills and measurability that make him attractive to Pittsburgh as a draft prospect. Should he have a strong season, he will definitely be considered on the first two days of the draft.

#5 SHEMAR TURNER, DL, TEXAS A&M (SENIOR) – 6-4, 285 POUNDS

Texas A&M DL Shemar Turner is more of a tweener due to his weight and size and plays both on the edge and as a defensive lineman in their system. That could cause nightmare flashbacks for some Steelers fans if DL DeMarvin Leal comes out of the same school in 2022.

However, Turner is a promising player in his own right, coming off a strong 2023 season for the Aggies, recording 33 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. He is explosive without the ball and does an excellent job on contact as a pass rusher, using his length and speed to overwhelm blockers at the point of attack en route to the quarterback.

Turner would need to add some size to play defensive end in Pittsburgh’s system, but he showed versatility both inside and outside during his time at A&M and shows good playmaking ability at the point of attack when playing inside. Turner brings more athletic elements to the position, which gives him advantages as a pass rusher, while also having the frame to add more size to better play the run game.

If he has another great season in 2024 and shows an improved figure, he should definitely be on Pittsburgh’s radar.

#91 TONKA HEMINGWAY, DL, SOUTH CAROLINA (R-SENIOR) – 6-3, 300 POUNDS

First of all, we can all agree that Tonka is a great name for a promising player on the defensive line. Names aside, South Carolina DL Tonka Hemingway is an interesting candidate for the defensive line. He is a little smaller than what Pittsburgh has liked in the past, but his performances confirm what the team is looking for on the defensive line.

Hemingway has the size and strength to man the middle and beat blockers in the run game, but he’s also a quick athlete for his size and can be a nuisance to opposing blockers in pass protection. He’s good at evading blocks and using his hands to keep blockers off of him, and he slides into the backfield to make tackles for losses and put pressure on the quarterback.

Hemingway has just 5.5 sacks during his college days, but he was a consistent performer in the Gamecocks’ forward defense and has proven to be quite disruptive in four seasons, producing 13.5 tackles for loss, including eight in 2022. Hemingway has flashed his athleticism for South Carolina in other ways, too, catching a pass on a fake field goal attempt against Vanderbilt and receiving a handoff at the goal line for a touchdown against Jacksonville State.

It’s a similar type of athleticism and skill that Sheldon Richardson boasted after his time at Missouri and in the NFL. It makes Hemingway a player to watch and one that can be used in a variety of ways, which could make him a fan favorite.