Pittsburgh’s DE Of The Future Is In College – And It Might Be Rylie Mills

As Dave Bryan and I talk about, when it comes to defensive line draft prospects, it’s easy to stand out. Finding the true Pittsburgh Steelers type at defensive end has been harder and harder as linemen have gotten smaller and quicker to match college spread systems and track down mobile quarterbacks. So when you find one, they jump off the page. For me, very early into the 2025 NFL Draft, that’s Notre Dame DL Rylie Mills.

Mills made Pro Football Focus’ list of 10 defensive linemen to watch in next April’s draft.

“Mills was tied for fourth among FBS interior defensive linemen this past season with a 13.5% pressure rate. The senior was also seventh among Power Five ones with a 15.5% pass-rush win rate and tied for 10th with 23 run-defense stops.”

Getting out of the weeds of the analytics, the point is Mills can play the run and get after the quarterback. Critically, he comes in the right size. Though we don’t have official weigh-ins, Notre Dame’s website lists him at 6-5, 295 pounds. DraftScout lists him at 6053, 306 pounds. While we don’t know his arm length, it appears to pass the test. Especially knowing if there’s an area the team is willing to sacrifice, it’s arm length.

Mills been reasonably productive throughout his college career. Over the past two seasons as a full-time starter, he’s recorded 11.5 TFL and six sacks for the Fighting Irish. Last year, he set a season-high with 47 tackles across 533 defensive snaps.

Per PFF, that time was split evenly between left and right defensive tackle, Mills primarily playing inside shade over guard. While he didn’t technically see much time at defensive end, Notre Dame’s system kept the linemen aligned tighter (like most college teams that run a 4-3) and Pittsburgh often does the same, rarely setting its DE as a true five-tech (outside shade of the OT) even in base/Okie fronts.

For what it’s worth, Mills played more on the edges in 2022. It seems he’s added weight throughout his college career, bulking up in similar fashion to Missouri’s Darius Robinson, who was on the Steelers’ 2024 draft radar. Mills’ frame, however, is fuller than Robinson with a thicker lower half. In body composition alone (and the fact Mills wears No. 99), he might draw some size comps to J.J. Watt.

While there’s plenty of tape I’ll need to get into, Mills is regarded as an athletic penetrator and varied pass rusher. Perhaps he needs to add some strength but Steelers defensive ends one-gap and get upfield much more than they used to. No longer are they just guys who get in the way to occupy space and blocks and free up linebackers.

Predicting team needs before the start of a season is tough to do. So much can and will change. But this team can’t keep putting off its lack of investment at defensive end. And when they have tried, they’ve missed with players like DeMarvin Leal. Even if Cam Heyward signs a contract extension, he’s in his mid-30s with playing time that must be reduced the older he gets. And the Steelers will have to plan for his replacement, just as they did when drafting Heyward with an aging Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel.

With size, pedigree, production, and team need, Mills is a name to watch throughout the college football season. He certainly won’t be the only name but one that jumped out at me. Maybe he’s not the Steelers’ first-round pick. The few references to draft projection consider him a late Day 2/early Day 3 type. But if he keeps improving and plays his best football in 2024, he’ll move up the draft boards. And should be on the Steelers’ radar.