In the modern NFL, interior defensive linemen are often neatly pigeonholed as either run-stuffing walls or explosive pocket collapse specialists. After battling through injuries during his rookie campaign, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Derrick Harmon felt external evaluators slapped him with a restrictive label.
Following his game-sealing strip-sack of quarterback Joe Burrow in Pittsburgh's 30-27 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3, Harmon hopes to silence some of his doubters.
Harmon recently made an appearance on teammate Cameron Heyward’s podcast, “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward,” and addressed the doubters who wrote off his impact on passing downs.
"And this is me talking probably a little selfishly, but I already do what
I can do as a pass rusher," Harmon declared. "Just from who I know I am. Um, and to be honest, some people call me out off that pass rush. They just try to put me in the box as a run stopper, but I know what I can do."
Harmon spent his offseason overhauling his approach, refining his technique, conditioning, and mental preparation to prove he can play as a true three-down disruptor.
"I took a whole different approach this off season and it really helped me, and I can tell within my game," Harmon explained. "Um, so people wrote me off though, bro. Off that side of things. And I ain't let that get to me, man. And for the people that did, just stay over there. That's it. Stay on that side."
With his late-game strip-sack securing a crucial division victory, Harmon is proving that his second-year transformation is real, and those who doubted his pass-rushing upside might want to take his advice and stay on that side.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Derrick Harmon sends blunt message to his pass-rush doubters
