At the Senior Bowl, the Steelers had a clear emphasis on defensive linemen. That priority has carried over to the NFL Scouting Combine.

"We've had a desire to build into the trenches," Omar Khan said Tuesday morning. "That's going to continue."

Defensive linemen don't take the field at Lucas Oil Stadium for workouts until Thursday afternoon, where they'll get a chance to put up numbers that raise as many eyebrows as possible.

"I'm trying to get down in the 4.9s, 4.8s," Michigan's Kenneth Grant said. "I'm trying."

Grant, who played nose tackle at 345 pounds, is talking about the 40-yard dash. Those would be absurd numbers for a man that size. But, it's also not completely farfetched, either:

That's Grant running down Penn State's Kaytron Allen, who is capable of running a sub-4.5 40-yard dash. That's something special.

The Steelers need as much special as they can get, especially on the defensive line. This is a franchise that has always prided itself on being physical, imposing, and would make it part of a winning effort to stop the run. In their most recent game played, they were bounced from the playoffs in the first round for the fifth time in a row, all while allowing 299 rushing yards against the archrival Ravens.

That's why Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin were attached at the hip to virtually every defensive lineman at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. That's why here at the Combine, they've had formal meetings with some of the top defensive linemen in a very strong class, including Grant.

"He's a pretty cool dude," Grant said of his meeting with Tomlin. "Most people think he's so serious. But, he's all about his business and he's easy to communicate with."

Grant would be a very interesting fit in this defense. He's primarily a nose tackle, but also has enough versatility to play as one of the two interior linemen when the team is in its nickel defense. According to Pro Football Focus, Grant played 368 of his 547 defensive snaps in the B gap (between the guard and tackle).

Selecting Grant 21st overall would be a direct effort to correct the shortcomings in run defense. Naturally as a nose tackle, he's primarily a run stopper. The opposite is true of Keeanu Benton, who the Steelers drafted in the second round two years ago. Benton was a nose tackle at Wisconsin, but was more known for his pass rushing ability rather than his run defense. Drafting Grant could open the door for Benton to play as more of a traditional 3-4 defensive end, where that pass rush ability has a better chance to shine.

Grant is a guy who could come in and immediately make the run defense better, whether he's the starting nose tackle or plays any snaps paired with Cam Heyward. He primarily relies on his power to eat up space, but uses his freaky athleticism to make occasional splash in rushing the quarterback. He's made it easier for himself to elevate that latter part of his game by slimming down to 332 pounds.

But, the NFL is seeing more and more teams running the ball more often. Drafting Grant could help combat that as a run-first defender.

"A lot of pride (in stopping the run)," Grant said. "We always pride ourselves as D-linemen to stop the run first then that gives us the ability to rush the passer. It goes hand in hand."

And, from his meeting with the Steelers, he knows how serious they are about adding impact players in the trenches:

"Very serious," Grant said. "They want competitors. They want dudes that are ready to go."

Ole Miss' Walter Nolen is another guy that could be "ready to go" and also available at 21st overall. The Steelers haven't met with him this week, but don't necessarily have to since Nolen talked with Tomlin at the Senior Bowl.

Instead, more time is being spent on other potential first-round picks that weren't in Mobile, Ala., such as Grant and Oregon's Derrick Harmon, the latter of which models a lot of his game after Heyward.

"Cam Heyward, Chris Jones, Alim McNeill over the with the Lions. I watch film on everybody," Harmon said. "The run, how (Heyward) plays that run. If I want to watch some run tape, I’m turning on Cam Heyward."

That's a great place to start. And Harmon is a guy who's already drawn comparisons to Heyward. According to NFL.com, one NFC executive said of Harmon, "He plays like a Raven or a Steeler. Off the tape, he reminds me of a young Cam Heyward but bigger."

Harmon's official measurements have yet to be posted, but he's currently listed at 6-5, 310 pounds. Last season, Heyward was listed at 6-5, 295 pounds. And when you turn on the tape, you can see shades of Heyward, including the patented one-arm shiver:

Harmon was glowing about his meeting with the Steelers, which makes it seem that he's a potential candidate at 21st overall if Tomlin and Khan feel the same way.

"That’s a great guy," Harmon said of Tomlin. "That’s a guy you can sit down and have an hour talk with, two-hour talk with, talk ball, talk life. Just a great guy to talk to."

That's what this process is all about. Sure, if Grant runs a sub-4.9 40-yard dash on Thursday, that'll shoot him up draft boards. But, this week in Indianapolis is, as Khan likes to put it, about learning which players are Steelers and which ones aren't.

Regardless of who meets that criteria, the Steelers need to add to the defensive line group. The fact that they're meeting with a good amount of the top guys in the class just further confirms it to be a major priority for them in this draft.