The 2026 NFL Draft has come and gone, and with enough time to settle in and let the dust settle, it certainly feels like a weaker class than what we have been accustomed to during the Omar Khan era. The Pittsburgh Steelers got better overall, but top to bottom, this class has some question marks.
While I am intrigued by the potential of this class, there are certainly some issues. I’m not really sure what direction this class will ultimately take.
After reflection, it feels like the Steelers made some clear mistakes. Unfortunately, it could cost this team as they are in desperate need of some talent.
Pittsburgh Steelers made three massive mistakes during the NFL Draft
Mistake #1: The Drew Allar pick
In a vacuum, I get the reason why you take a player like Drew Allar. The Steelers don’t have a franchise quarterback on the roster, and Allar has arguably the best arm traits of anyone in this class. He needs a lot of refinement to become anything in the league, but the potential is there for Mike McCarthy to work with.
You then look at the state of this roster, and the pick becomes a lot harder to justify.
Given the nature of the tag the Steelers placed on Aaron Rodgers, the team clearly wants to move forward with the veteran for another season. That means Allar will be a backup, and more than likely the third option. Will Howard, meanwhile, was glowingly spoken about and will also want playing time.
Had Rodgers not been in the plan, then you would have been justified in using a third-round pick to gamble on a traits-based quarterback. Instead, the odds of Allar seeing the field as a rookie are slim to none. That means we will still have the same questions at quarterback next year as the team likely pursues a quarterback early in 2027.
Mistake #2: Losing sight of the value in the draft
It has become abundantly clear that the 2026 draft was a weak one overall. The top-end talent was lacking, and it felt like day three had a bunch of teams reaching for lesser-known players.
In a draft like that, getting value is key. While you can argue that the Steelers got fine value on days one and two, the wheels fell off on day three.
While both players will serve a role, Kaden Wetjen and Riley Nowakowski were far from value picks. With this team so mediocre for so long, using your fourth and fifth round picks on a returner and fullback seems odd. Gabriel Rubio, meanwhile, was unranked on most big boards.
This felt like a late-stage Colbert era draft, where the team has specific players they want who they will take regardless of round or value. Given how bad his final stretch of drafts was, it was refreshing when Omar Khan focused on value picks, especially later in the draft. That certainly wasn’t the case this year.
Mistake #3: Not taking advantage of the depth of the draft
Another trait that had been consistent in the Khan era was lining up draft depth and using that to the team’s advantage. Take last year, a notably deep defensive line class, which saw the Steelers add two players from that group. Even names like Payton Wilson and Darnell Washington were picked due to the depth of the class that they were in.
The depth this year was in the secondary, mainly safeties, but to an extent, cornerbacks as well, and linebackers. We did draft a cornerback in the third round (Georgia's Daylen Everette), but we waited until round seven for a safety (Oklahoma's Robert Spears-Jennings) and never addressed linebacker.
Neither position was an immediate need, but both could be looking for new starters next season. Adding some fresh faces while benefiting from the depth of this draft class would have been logical.
Instead, this team reached for players to fill niche roles. Easily, it was the worst blunder of this entire draft.
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