The Pittsburgh Steelers moved back eight spots in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. In the process, Omar Khan netted a sixth-round pick from the Kansas City Chiefs (No. 210) while giving them a seventh (No. 249).
After back-to-back head-scratching selections of return man Kaden Wetjen and H-back Riley Nowkowski, fans were hoping the Steelers would take the 'best player available' approach with their lone sixth-round pick.
Sadly, their next selection was anything but.
With the 210th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected... Gabe Rubio, a defensive lineman out of Notre Dame. Who?
I knew hundreds of draft prospects entering the 2026 draft, but this was not one of them. After the selection was made, I attempted to dig up anything I could find on this off-the-wall pick. While we don't want to jump to conclusions about the player before we know anything about him, it's hard to follow Khan's line of logic with this selection.
The Pittsburgh Steelers reached on a player nobody knows in Round 6 of the 2026 NFL Draft
It's not surprising to see the Pittsburgh Steelers address the defensive line with one of their ten draft choices. During the pre-draft process, Pittsburgh's brass hosted Florida State defensive lineman Darrell Jackson Jr. for a pre-draft visit.
But this pick was completely baffling.
In five college seasons at Notre Dame, Rubio collected just seven tackles for a loss and a sack-and-a-half. This is a pitiful production, considering he played in 39 games over the years.
We can't get excited about Rubio's athletic traits either. Rubio wasn't invited to the NFL Combine, but at his Notre Dame Pro Day, he ran a 5.26 40-yard dash, posted a 26-inch vertical, and had a concerning 4.87 short shuttle. The collection of his athletic traits netted the defensive lineman a pedestrian Relative Athletic Score of 4.82 out of 10.
The one thing Rubio has going for him is size. Listed at 6'5'' and 321 pounds with 33 5/8'' arms, the Notre Dame product checks a box that Pittsburgh routinely looks for in their 3-4 base defensive ends.
Regardless, this decision was baffling. Gabe Rubio felt like a player the Pittsburgh Steelers could have easily signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2026 NFL Draft. Perhaps they didn't want to miss out on him, but with defensive tackles on the board who were significantly more productive, athletic, and notable, it's hard to make sense of this pick.
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