A mountain of a man, Yahya Black helped anchor the Iowa defensive line at tackle for several seasons. Now, he's headed to the professional ranks. On Saturday Black was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 164th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Black was a reliable -- and immovable -- presence in the middle of Iowa's defensive line, starting 27 games and not missing a game in 2023 or 2024. Black finished his Iowa career with 114 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He also had four quarterback pressures and a forced fumble and also used his massive wingspan to break up seven passes and block a field goal.
While his enormous physical size allowed him to physically overwhelm opponents at times, Black also made use of his mind and his awareness to diagnose and disrupt offensive plays.
"Yahya is one of the sharpest guys in the room, just in terms of understanding what's happening defensively," Iowa defensive line coach Kelvin Bell said prior to the season. "He's so big and so athletic that he can make up for a lot of mistakes."
While Black didn't post enormous stats, much of that is a function of Iowa's defensive scheme and his role within that system. His job was to occupy blockers and free up Iowa's linebackers to make stops. He did that very well, enabling Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson to rack up 295 and 210 tackles, respectively, over the last two seasons.
Black grew into a team leader during his tenure at Iowa as well.
"He's emerged as not only a good player but as one of our team leaders, and it's been fun to watch that -- where he's involved with the other guys and really encouraging with them. If he's got to say something, he'll say it," Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said last fall.
STRENGTHS
Black is far from the fastest or most explosive prospect, aspects of his game which will be discussed further below. But as the saying goes, you can't teach size. Black is absolutely massive, measuring 6'6" and 336 lbs with 35" arms and a 7-foot wingspan and large hands (10 1/4"). He has a very powerful punch and extension and was very difficult for opponents to block without assistance.
With experience as a one- and three-technique defensive tackle at Iowa, Black offers a little positional versatility at the tackle position. He's also a powerful run defender, able to use his large frame to fill space, hold the line of scrimmage, and clog run lanes.
WEAKNESSES
There's no question that Black's athleticism is far from elite. He graded out poorly in speed and explosion drills at the NFL Scouting Combine, including a 5.39 time in the 40-yard dash and 25.5" in the vertical jump. That lack of explosiveness does limit Black's potential as a pass rusher and his short-area movement.