The Steelers kept it in the family with the first of their two seventh round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft when the took Washington’s Inside Linebacker, Carson Bruener. Bruener is of course the son of former Steelers tight end and current scout Mark Bruener.
Carson Bruener in the 2024 College football championship. Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images, via SI.com
Once the pick was in, the Steelers braintrust sent out linebackers coach Scott McCurley and special teams coach Danny Smith to talk to the media, which provides a pretty strong indication of how Bruener fits in.
Smith described him as “…a four-phase guy, punt, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s relentless. He should be a good player.”
Bruener led the Washington Huskies with 104 tackles and 3 interceptions this past year working as a team captain. He did this despite playing for 3 different head coaches and 3 different defensive coordinators during his time with the team.
By definition if you’re a 7th round pick you enter your first year as a roster-bubble baby and, until you really prove you belong in the NFL, you’ll likely stay that way for a while. That’s a challenge Bruener appears well-equiped to handle.
At the NFL Scouting combine, Bruener spoke with Steel City Insider’s Jim Wexell reflecting on the impact of all of the changes he’d had to undergo in college offering:
The biggest thing is take it one day at a time and be where your feet are at. Not looking too far in advance, because, if you did that, it could’ve brought a lot of challenges. You could’ve got used to one defense, one coaching staff; then they leave and you get shook. But I was just where me feet were at. One thing (Washington defensive coordinator) Steve Belichick told me that I’ve really instilled in my life is just being where your feet are at and being the same guy every single day.
Reading this as someone who has cycled through 6 bosses in under 3 years all while working for the same company, I can attest that this sound live advice, not just good football life.
Carson Bruener Video Highlights
There’s one big difference between Carson and Mark Bruener’s experience, here in 2025 even 7th round picks have their own highlight reels on YouTube. Let’s take a look:
In talking about the pick, Mike Tomlin praised his “great instincts” and his double-digit special teams tackles in 2022 and 2023, describing his family ties to the Steelers as “an awesome side note.”
Watching his highlight reel makes it easy to believe Tomlin’s final point.
Welcome to Steelers Nation Carson Bruener.
