The Pittsburgh Steelers had a very up-and-down NFL Draft weekend as the host city for the three-day event. Between the debacle surrounding USC wide receiver Makai Lemon and the polarizing pick of Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, fans and analysts seem to be struggling with how to properly assess their overall class.
Long-time draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. recently gave his grades for each team's class, including Pittsburgh's. Kiper gave the class a B grade overall, not surprising given most analysts rarely give grades below a C (for reference, Kiper gave just nine teams less than a B-).
However, Kiper seemed to completely gloss over the optics surrounding the Steelers' first-round mishap, and I can't help but feel like he is letting them off the hook with his B grade.
Mel Kiper Jr. fails to factor in Pittsburgh Steelers ebarrassing moment while grading their 2026 draft
Ultimately, the most important thing when going through the exercise of draft grading is to factor in just what the team actually did, not what they failed to do. That's likely why Kiper didn't even mention the fact that the Steelers were jumped for Lemon by the Philadelphia Eagles and needed to "settle" for Arizona State tackle Max Iheanachor.
Still, it's hard to just gloss over the fact that Pittsburgh was literally on the phone with Lemon before the Cowboys pulled the rug out from under them. If Lemon becomes the player that many believe he could be, it could come back to haunt the Steelers, no matter how well Iheanachor turns out.
Their trade-up in the second round to pick Alabama's Germie Bernard definitely helped soften the blow from Day 1, and he is a great fit next to DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. Lemon has the much higher ceiling, however, and could easily be the focal point of the Eagles' offense sooner rather than later.
The rest of the Steelers draft was solid, but not good enough to erase the potential stain left behind from the first round. Iowa's Gennings Dunker was maybe their best pick from a value standpoint, but they could have had a higher-rated player, Oregon's Emmanuel Pregnon, had they not taken Allar at 76.
Overall, I would be hard-pressed to give the Steelers any higher than C+ for their 2026 class, with their regrettable first-round blunder factored in.
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