The Pittsburgh Steelers 2026 NFL Draft marked the beginning of a new era. With Mike McCarthy taking over as head coach, there are a lot of unknowns about this version of the Black and Gold. Will Aaron Rodgers come back, and if he doesn’t, who’s the quarterback going to be long-term? What will the new offense and defense look like? The draft was the first clue to answer these questions.
Pittsburgh had quite a few holes on the roster, particularly on offense. The draft needed to shore up that side of the ball in a way that wouldn’t feed a young or athletically limited QB to the wolves. Defensively, the Steelers needed to add depth where departures (whether via retirement or free agency) are imminent. Did the organization succeed? Here are the latest additions to the Steel City.
Round 1, Pick 21: Max Iheanachor, Offensive Tackle, Arizona State
The Steelers were in desperate need of an upgrade at OT. Broderick Jones hasn’t lived up to his potential and is entering the last year of his rookie deal. Pass protection is a priority for Pittsburgh in 2026, whether Rodgers or one of the young QBs is the starter for Week One. Max Iheanachor filled a hole for the Steelers, although he had the 38th-best prospect grade on NFL.com, and he wasn’t the team’s first choice at pick 21.
Regardless of what happened with Makai Lemon, Pittsburgh bolstered its offensive line with the Iheanachor selection. At 6’5″ and 321 pounds, the former basketball and soccer player possesses a unique athletic profile. He is raw, since he didn’t start playing football until much later in childhood. Good run game tape and a strong Senior Bowl performance make him a rookie to watch for in minicamp this summer. Iheanachor could be starting games before the season is over, depending on how quickly he picks up NFL concepts.
Round 2, Pick 47: Germie Bernard, Wide Receiver, Alabama
With D.K. Metcalf and Michael Pittman leading the receiver room, Pittsburgh needed some depth behind those elite pass-catchers. Roman Wilson showed flashes of play-making ability last season, but those flashes weren’t consistent, and having an established QB isn’t a given for 2026. An unfortunate injury (or suspension, in Metcalf’s case) can derail the Steelers’ offense, particularly with a young signal-caller. Germie Bernard is a great depth piece, and represents good value with the 47th pick.
What Bernard lacks in elite speed, he makes up for in versatility. He can play in the slot or outside the numbers, and route-running is a strength for the prospect. Bernard struggles with physicality at times, but he is dangerous after the catch. The battle for WR3 should be interesting between him and Wilson, and the depth should be a boon for whoever the starting quarterback is.
Round 3, Pick 76: Drew Allar, Quarterback, Penn State
Pittsburgh’s quarterback room has been a point of discussion for fans since Ben Roethlisberger retired, and 2026 is no different. Rodgers has yet to decide if he’s coming back to the Steel City, leaving the fate of this season’s Steelers in the hands of unproven second-year passer Will Howard and career backup Mason Rudolph. Howard is projected to take first-team snaps if Rodgers doesn’t come back, which could be good for the franchise, as the former national champion has strong intangibles and is accurate. Pittsburgh needed another QB to fill out the roster if the veteran doesn’t return, and the organization filled that hole in this year’s draft.
Anubis Sports projected Drew Allar to the Steelers back in mid-March, and for good reason. The Pennsylvania ties were likely appealing to Pittsburgh, and he has physical traits that the other QBs on the roster don’t have. The frame and the arm talent are something that can’t be coached, but he makes too many mistakes with his fundamentals. Allar is not going to be contending for the starting job this season (unless something has gone terribly wrong), but he can build himself into a competent NFL QB if he addresses the flaws in his game.
Round 3, Pick 85: Daylen Everette, Cornerback, Georgia
With Jamel Dean and Joey Porter Jr., the Steelers have figured out the top of the cornerback depth chart. Brandon Echols took over the nickel position mid-season and matched his career-high with two interceptions. One area that needed to be addressed was secondary depth. There are no proven backups, so any injury would cause a dramatic reshuffling of the defense. Pittsburgh got the depth that it needed with Daylen Everette at a good value in the third round.
Everette is a tall corner (6’1″) with sub-4.4 speed, which makes him valuable on the back end of a defense. He tallied 41 starts for the Bulldogs, so he’s been battle-tested against elite competition. He makes life difficult for receivers with his length, and is willing to come down in run support. Everette lacks the top-tier speed to be a starting outside corner, but he can carve out a good career as a productive nickel.
Round 3, Pick 96: Gennings Dunker, Offensive Guard, Iowa
The Steelers are supremely thin at guard. There isn’t a player at the position who has more than three years of experience. Mason McCormick leads the position, as he started every game last season, but everyone else has yet to start in the NFL. Offensive line play was deficient last season, and Genning Dunker might have to contribute right away for Pittsburgh.
An Iowa OL is usually a safe bet in the NFL Draft, and Dunker is no exception. A three-year starter with a 6’5″ frame, he helped the Hawkeyes win the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation’s best offensive line. As a tackle in college, he was effective in run blocking, and has the potential to be just as good in pass protection. Dunker doesn’t move or make adjustments well, but sliding over to guard minimizes those weaknesses. He’s another player to keep an eye on in camp, to see if he can be a Week One starter as a rookie.
Round 4, Pick 121: Kaden Wetjen, Wide Receiver, Iowa
It’s not often that an organization picks up an immediate starter in the fourth round, but the Steelers may have done that with the acquisition of Kaden Wetjen. The former Hawkeye won the Jet Award as the country’s best kick returner in back-to-back years, as he led the nation in combined return yards in 2024 and 2025. He’s elusive with the ball in his hands and is a threat to flip the field on any return. Wetjen is more of a project at receiver due to his lack of size and elite speed, but he should make an immediate impact on Pittsburgh’s special teams.
Round 5, Pick 169: Riley Nowakowski, Tight End, Indiana
Riley Nowakowski was labeled a tight end for the draft, but he is currently listed as a fullback on Pittsburgh’s roster. A seventh-round projection, he is a better fit in the backfield, where his run blocking can be an asset and his limitations in the passing game are less of an issue. Selecting Nowakowski at this point in the draft is curious, but this pick points to a more run-oriented offensive attack, which should be music to Steelers fans’ ears.
Round 6, Pick 210: Gabe Rubio, Defensive End, Notre Dame
Maybe the most head-scratching pick of the Steelers draft, Gabe Rubio has the frame (6’5″, 321 pounds) to play in the NFL, but an arm injury in the seventh week of the season shut him down for the rest of the year. No draft pundit was very high on Rubio, and there’s little information about him. He could potentially be a backup nose guard in Pittsburgh, but this was the biggest reach in the draft for the franchise.
Round 7, Pick 224: Robert Spears-Jennings, Safety, Oklahoma
The combination of Jalen Ramsey, Jaquan Brisker, and DeShon Elliott leaves Pittsburgh in a good spot at the safety position. The potential to shore up depth in the sixth round is attractive to NFL teams, and Robert Spears-Jennings is an interesting prospect. The former Sooner is a hybrid safety; he’s willing to come downhill in run support, and has the physical tools to be a contributor in pass coverage. Despite having a 5th round grade, Spears-Jennings makes too many mental mistakes at this point to justify a large investment in him. Being a special teams contributor is the ceiling for now, until he improves at the finer points of playing safety.
Round 7, Pick 230: Eli Heidenreich, Running Back, Navy
Perhaps the highlight of the entire draft, the Steelers selected Pittsburgh product Eli Heidenreich with their last pick. At Navy, he was more of a receiver in the Midshipmen’s triple-option attack, and he tested well as a pass-catcher in the pre-draft process. He lacks the speed or the burst to contribute to an NFL offense, so he’ll need to make an impact on special teams in order to stay on the roster. Heidenreich is listed as Pittsburgh’s seventh RB, so he’ll need a big offseason to prove that he deserves to make the cut.
Pittsburgh Steelers 2026 NFL Draft Grade: C
The Steelers filled some important needs, but they also made some terrible reaches. Iheanachor, Allar, Nowakowski, and Rubio were all reaches for where they were taken, which is reckless on the part of an organization in transition. On the other hand, Pittsburgh picked up potential starters with six of their first seven picks, which is unheard of in the modern NFL. There were no additions at linebacker during the draft, which is an interesting choice with an injury-prone T.J. Watt, and Patrick Queen in the last year of his contract. With all this in mind, the 2026 draft class was an underwhelming one for the Steelers.
