The Pittsburgh Steelers don't have a long-term plan at quarterback (at least not that fans can see). Right now, Will Howard and Mason Rudolph are the only two quarterbacks on the roster, and even if Aaron Rodgers comes back for one more season, he won't be the answer for the team beyond 2026.
We know Omar Khan wants to find the next franchise quarterback through the NFL Draft... and that big swing could come sooner than expected.
On Monday, ESPN insider Adam Schefter joined The Pat McAfee Show, where he confidently expressed that Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson will, in fact, be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
"The one thing that I can say confidently right now, talking to front offices, is I believe Ty Simpson will be a first-round draft pick... That's all I'm saying right now...
Again, think that will probably be one of the central, focal storylines of the NFL Draft: where does Ty Simpson go? All I feel comfortable saying right now is I'm confident he'll be a first-round pick."
The Pittsburgh Steelers could be the team that rolls the dice on QB Ty Simpson in the 2026 NFL Draft
Simpson receiving first-round buzz is nothing new. However, the connection between the Steelers and Simpson has died off over the past month. Now it's instantly red hot again.
Outside of Fernando Mendoza, the 2026 quarterback class is not considered a talented group. However, after Schefter's bombshell report, we can feel confident that Simpson will find himself in the first round this April. It's just a matter of where.
The Pittsburgh Steelers hold the No. 21 overall selection, and it feels like there's a solid chance Simpson could be available at this spot. But the buzz for most of the pre-draft process is that Khan and the front office will address wide receiver or offensive line early.
The Steelers need a long-term quarterback, but the last thing fans should want is to take Simpson at pick 21 for the sake of need. In Kevin Colbert's final draft in 2022, the team selected Kenny Pickett with the 20th overall pick in a weak QB class. This decision obviously worked out poorly for Pittsburgh.
Simpson this year feels a lot like Jaxson Dart from last year's NFL Draft. The former Ole Miss quarterback was taken at pick No. 25 after the New York Giants traded back into the first round. Perhaps a team like the Arizona Cardinals would do something similar for Simpson this year.
Regardless of the varying opinions on Simpson, we certainly can't rule the Alabama quarterback prospect out as a possible option for the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 21st overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft after the latest report.