
#94 DE · Pittsburgh Steelers
Height
6'5"
Weight
336 lbs
Age
24
College
Iowa
Draft
2025, Rd 5, #164
Experience
0 yrs
DE Rank
#121 / 160
Grade Yahya Black
Your grade joins the crowd-sourced Fan Verdict.
On the field, Yahya Black grades out as a shaky DE for Pittsburgh Steelers (D Performance). That places him 121st of 160 graded defensive ends. Against that production, his deal reads as good value on the Contract Value Index (B) — the team is paying below what the play would command. The public read is negative (D- Sentiment), drawn from current news and social signal rather than the box score. As a prospect, expect these grades to move quickly as a real sample builds.
| Year | Team | GP | Sacks | Tkl | TFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | ![]() | 17 | — | 28 | 2.5 |
| 2025 | ![]() | 17 | 0.0 | 28 | 2.5 |
Length
4 years
Total Value
$4.6M
Guaranteed
$380K
AAV
$1.1M/yr
The Steelers landed excellent value with Yahya Black's four-year, $4.6M extension, securing a solid rotational pass rusher at well below-market rates. Black's B CVI reflects the perfect alignment between his depth piece production tier and his modest $1.1M AAV — Pittsburgh essentially locked up a reliable contributor for backup money while most teams are paying $3-4M annually for similar edge depth. The contract structure heavily favors the organization with just $400K guaranteed, giving them maximum flexibility to move on if Black's development stagnates or if they find an upgrade. At his age and career stage, this deal represents pure upside for Pittsburgh's front office, as Black provides quality snaps in their defensive rotation without constraining future roster building. This is textbook how to handle depth signings — secure known production at minimal cost while maintaining all the leverage.
Other same-position deals the Contract Value Index also places in the B band — a quick read on where Yahya's contract sits relative to comparable money.
Yahya Black grades as a rotational player among NFL defensive ends — a below-average player at the position. His strongest area is tackles for loss at 0.15 (below the NFL average of 0.30), ranking as well below average for the position. Limited games played (17 career) reduces confidence in this grade.
Yahya Black ranks 121st of 160 graded defensive ends by performance. That slots Yahya between Ashton Gillotte (D) just ahead and Kingsley Enagbare (D) just behind.
Graded higher
Ashton GillotteKansas City ChiefsDL.J. CollierArizona CardinalsDLJ CollierArizona CardinalsDGraded lower
Kingsley EnagbareNew York JetsYahya Black enters the 2026 offseason carrying a D- sentiment grade that reflects legitimate concerns about his immediate NFL readiness despite flashes of potential. The Pittsburgh defensive end's rookie campaign was defined more by growing pains than breakthrough moments, with Black himself publicly acknowledging he "hit a wall" during his first professional season—a refreshingly honest but telling admission about the adjustment challenges he faced. An injury setback further derailed his development timeline, preventing him from building the necessary momentum to establish himself in the Steelers' defensive rotation. While Black did generate some positive buzz with a fumble recovery against D'Andre Swift that briefly captured national attention, that highlight largely stands alone in an otherwise concerning debut year. Media and fan perception has settled on viewing him as a developmental depth piece with legitimate upside, but the narrative heading into 2026 positions him as someone who must prove his rookie struggles represented temporary growing pains rather than an early indication of his NFL ceiling.
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Yahya Black is a player on a rookie-scale contract listed at DE for the Pittsburgh Steelers. FanVerdicts covers every NFL player, team, GM, and transaction — and puts your verdict on all of it. Sign in to cast your Fan Verdict on Yahya Black, see where the crowd lands, and argue the call. FanVerdicts also brings its own read — performance, sentiment, and Contract Value Index — as one honest input alongside the crowd's. Where FanVerdicts has weighed in so far: Contract Value Index B, Performance D, Sentiment D-.
The crowd's Fan Verdict moves in real time as fans vote on this profile. FanVerdicts' own read updates as new data lands — performance recalculates when NFL game stats post, sentiment shifts with media coverage and fan discussion, and the Contract Value Index recomputes when contract terms change. Contract details below show the structure (years, total value, average annual value, guarantees) behind the Contract Value Index read.
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