What Is the Bigger Need for the Steelers in the 2026 NFL Draft?
The 2026 NFL Draft is just two months away, and the Steelers have a tough decision to make in the first round. Sitting at the 21st pick in this year’s draft, which will be held in Pittsburgh from April 23rd to April 25th, the Steelers enter with a large gap in both the quarterback and wide receiver rooms. After bringing in WR D.K. Metcalf through a trade with the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh was still left with a question looming over its head. Who else do they have at wide receiver? Besides Metcalf, who led the team with 850 receiving yards, the Steelers' next closest receiver was Calvin Austin III, who finished the season with just 372 receiving yards. Of the Steelers' top seven pass catchers, Metcalf and Austin were the only two WRs. The Steelers also signed the then 41-year-old QB Aaron Rodgers to a one-year, nearly $20 million deal, including incentives, with the expectation that Rodgers would be their starter. Rodgers finished the season with 3,322 passing yards, 65.7% completion percentage, and a 24-seven TD-INT ratio, giving him the best season for a Steelers QB since Ben Roethlisberger in 2021. Rodgers' future, both with the Steelers and in the NFL, is uncertain.
Many notable names, both at the quarterback and wide receiver positions, are available in this upcoming draft, such as Alabama QB Ty Simpson, whom the Steelers have been looking at very closely, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. Pryor stated that “In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Field Yates has the Steelers using their 21st pick on Alabama Quarterback Ty Simpson.” Many NFL Draft analysts, such as Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr., view Simpson as a first-round talent, while others believe that Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the only quarterback with true first-round talent in this draft. The Steelers still have Mason Rudolph and a young, unproven Will Howard on the roster as well. When asked about the possibility of Rodgers coming back, head coach Mike McCarthy didn’t hold back, saying, "Definitely. I don’t see why you wouldn’t.”
The Steelers' bigger offensive concern comes at wide receiver, which fits perfectly with this draft being a good one for the position. Receivers such as Ohio State's Carnell Tate, Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson, USC’s Makai Lemon, Texas A&M’s Kevin Concepcion, and Notre Dame’s Malachi Fields have all declared for the 2026 NFL Draft. Any of them would serve as fantastic draft picks for the Steelers. Josh Edwards from CBS Sports claimed that “Makai Lemon is a player who is grounded through the catch. He’s somebody that would excel in today’s NFL, where if you just put the ball in his hands and give him room to operate, he’s somebody that can create a lot of yards after the catch, which is something this Pittsburgh offense has desperately needed. Many other names have been linked to Pittsburgh at the WR position, such as recently released Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill, and Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr, who Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr predicted would be traded, as he does not fit in with Liam Cohen’s offense in Jacksonville. The Steelers will have a hectic and complicated next two months as they await the opening of NFL Free Agency on March 11th and the NFL Draft on April 23rd, but it seems that QB and WR are at the top of their needs.
