Pittsburgh Steelers

Projected Cap Space: $39.3 million

Draft Picks: 12

• 1st (No. 21)
• 2nd (No. 53)
• 3rd (No. 76, DAL)
• 3rd (No. 85)
• 3rd (No. 99, comp)
• 4th (No. 121)
• 4th (No. 135, comp)
• 5th (No. 159)
• 6th (No. 213, comp)
• 6th (No. 214, comp)
• 7th (No. 224, NO)
• 7th (No. 237)

Notable Free Agents: 

• QB Aaron Rodgers
• G Isaac Seumalo
• RB Kenneth Gainwell
• WR Calvin Austin
• CB Asante Samuel Jr.
• S Kyle Dugger
• S Chuck Clark
• S Jabrill Peppers
• CB James Pierre
• LB Cole Holcomb
• OL Andrus Peat
• WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Top Three Needs

1 – Quarterback

Easily the most glaring hole on the roster, right now the Steelers have Mason Rudolph and 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard as the only passers of note under contract in 2026. Hiring HC Mike McCarthy leaves the door cracked a little bit for a return from Rodgers but at this point, all signs point to retirement for the future Hall of Famer. 

That leaves the Steelers in a pickle. McCarthy talked up Howard in his introductory press conference, but considering he didn’t even attempt a pass during his rookie season, that’s a hard sell. Pittsburgh will have to look elsewhere for a starting quarterback, and it seems like they’ll have to put a Band-Aid on the job for yet another year. It’s not a great quarterback class and they’re picking too low to snare a first-round-caliber prospect anyway. Any player they draft would likely compete with Howard as a developmental backup. 

Options are similarly sparse in free agency and the trade market. Kyler Murray is the biggest name potentially available, assuming Arizona is still willing to move him. Kirk Cousins should be a free agent, along with Joe Flacco, Jimmy Garoppolo and Russell Wilson. Geno Smith, Justin Fields and Tua Tagovailoa could shake loose, and there are a few other dart throw types that teams will contemplate gambling on. I’m not sure any of these options would excite a majority of Steelers fans. McCarthy was hired because of his reputation with quarterbacks, and he’ll need all of that expertise given how short of cards the hand he agreed to take on is. 

2 – Wide Receiver

Regardless of who ends up under center for the Steelers, Pittsburgh will need multiple reinforcements to its receiving corps. The unit was an issue last year even in OC Arthur Smith’s run-heavy system, and the Steelers felt the lack of a playmaker across from WR D.K. Metcalf all season. McCarthy will talk a big game about running the ball, but historically, he’s been a pass-first playcaller. 

To support that, the Steelers need more weapons. Austin served as the No. 2 for most of last season and his expiring contract provides an opportunity to upgrade. Pittsburgh also has four selections on Day 2 of the draft which historically has been fertile territory for them to land starting wideouts. While this draft class might not be heavy at quarterback, it’s once again looking deep at receiver, which bodes well for the Steelers. 

3 – Secondary

The Steelers have a couple of big decisions to make with DB Jalen Ramsey. First they have to decide if they want him back in 2026. If that’s the case, the two sides have to agree on a value that makes both happy. Ramsey is due $19.5 million next season and at this stage of his career, that is probably too much. The 31-year-old can still be a solid player as a safety or a nickel defender, but his days as a top-shelf outside corner are gone. 

Once the Steelers figure out if Ramsey will be back and the role they plan for him (safety or nickel), then they can fill out the rest of the secondary accordingly. They have a ton of pending free agents, including two corners (Pierre and Samuel) and three safeties (Dugger, Clark, Peppers). Some of those players might be back, others will walk as the Steelers try to upgrade for new DC Patrick Graham.

One Big Question

Are the Steelers rebuilding or still trying to compete? 

Former HC Mike Tomlin‘s decision to step down after two decades marks the end of an era in Pittsburgh. For an organization that prides itself on stability in a league increasingly defined by constant change, it’s a massive transition.

The Steelers haven’t been immune or blind to the need to evolve. Some changes they’ve undergone willingly, including how the front office has operated. Others have been forced upon them, like the quarterback wilderness they’ve wandered in since Ben Roethlisberger retired. Tomlin’s exit will rapidly accelerate the rate of change, however, even if McCarthy is as established a coach as Pittsburgh could hope to take the reins. 

Entering this past season, the Steelers were a veteran-heavy team that leaned hard into age and experience. It left them largely in the same place they’d been under Tomlin for years — good enough to finish over .500, not good enough to win a playoff game. After he left, the Steelers could have hired a young coach like they’d done the previous three times they needed to in the last half-century and radically remade the roster in an effort to rebuild. 

But Steelers ownership has resisted that kind of teardown for years and years. By hiring a 62-year-old McCarthy, they sent another signal that there wouldn’t be a short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain. They want to win now. But that doesn’t change the fact that the core of this Pittsburgh team — OLB T.J. Watt, DL Cameron Heyward, Metcalf, Ramsey, OLB Alex Highsmith and more — are all either in their 30s or nearly there. And it doesn’t change the fact that the Steelers don’t have a quarterback, nor a clear path to get one. 

How the Steelers and McCarthy straddle that contradiction in 2026 is going to be interesting.