The life cycle of a developmental rookie in the NFL is unforgiving and ruthless. Look no further than the inevitable training camp battle between fourth-round pick Yahya Black and Logan Lee in the Pittsburgh Steelers trenches. In one year, roster turnover on the defensive line has left Lee, a 2024 rookie, on the hot seat as Mike Tomlin thins out the roster.
The roughly 6-foot-6, 336-pound Black is a towering obelisk of a run stuffer out of Iowa. Combined with 35-inch arms, he is a massive figure. Black was drafted as part of his efforts to flesh out a position Pittsburgh has viewed as paramount to their success in 2025.
A year ago, the Steelers drafted another Iowa defensive tackle: Logan Lee with the 178th overall pick they acquired from the Carolina Panthers. Lee was placed on injured reserve before the season began and never played a regular-season snap.
A recap of Lee’s rookie year could fit on a fortune cookie. In February, Lee revealed that the injury that sent him to the IR was a relatively minor one, but the Steelers preferred to set him aside to use 2024 as a developmental year because the Steelers had so much depth on their 53-man roster.
However, the Steelers' decisions during the NFL Draft indicate that Lee will have a slim path to a roster spot in 2025 as well. Black is a mammoth of a nose tackle who has 50 pounds on Lee, who can line up as a 3-4 defensive end as well as an interior lineman in nickel or 4-3 sub-packages. However, first-round pick Derrick Harmon was also drafted as Cameron Heyward’s protege on the defensive line.
Logan Lee will find it hard to stick on the Steelers roster after Pittsburgh drafted Yahya Black
The Steelers' defensive front is getting a little crowded which isn’t to say that Lee has no chance. However, the preseason will be paramount for him. Lee was drafted for his upside as a 2-gap run defender and interior pass rusher. However, size and strength limitations will put a cap on his ability to function as a full-time starter.
Meanwhile, the Steelers began the 2024 season with eight defensive linemen on their Week 1 53-man roster. But that included Lee, who was quickly placed on IR. This spring, Lee is again starting behind the eight-ball. Black, Harmon, Heyward, Keeanu Benton, Demarvin Leal, Isiahh Loudermilk, as well as newly-signed defensive tackles Dean Lowry, and Daniel Ekuale are on the Steelers' priority list. Lowry is a 30-year-old vet who was signed last month after missing all of last season rehabbing a pectoral injury. The Steelers could push him out if all three rookies show enough promise to warrant a spot.
If the Steelers opt to keep eight defensive linemen on their final roster, Lee may have to beat out Black and send him on his way to a “redshirt year." Lee's short-term projections also depend on how much Black can impress upon the coaching staff in the preseason. Lee is the lightest defensive lineman on the Steelers' defensive line and they have very little invested in him as a former sixth-rounder which puts him in a prime seat to get ejected if Harmon and vets outshine him. If Black shows flashes of being a playable nose tackle who eats up space on the defensive line and on the roster, his gain could come at Lee's demise.