The Pittsburgh Steelers were employing this preseason to gauge their depth and refine their new defensive foundation. And Derrick Harmon was squarely at the center of it. The first-year defensive tackle had dressed for each of the three exhibition contests, pounding out repetitions in each game. Thursday evening in Charlotte, he was still among the last of the starters hanging in there late in the game. A testament to both his conditioning and to the coaching staff’s needing to get their first-rounder on the field as many snaps as humanly possible before the real grind sets in. But then, in quiet that hushed the stadium, Harmon’s night unraveled. The play followed as Harmon bull-rushed guard Brandon Walton.

Walton knocked him to the ground as Harmon made the turn, and the rookie lan

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