Heading into the 2025 season, there was plenty of optimism from the NFL draft community about the 2026 quarterback class. Players like LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State's Drew Allar, Clemson's Cade Klubnik, and Arizona State's Sam Leavitt were just a few of the passers who had first-round potential. With the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the draft in 2026, it seemed like the perfect time for them to take another swing at a franchise QB.
Fast forward to today, and none of those players are likely to even sniff Day 1 of the draft. Between injuries and poor play, the 2026 crop of QBs has fallen off considerably. Names like Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza from Indiana and Oregon's Dante Moore have stepped up to save the class, but it could be slim pickings beyond those two.
One player who had the talent to make his way into the first round was South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers. The 6'3", 240-pound redshirt sophomore didn't improve as much as analysts had hoped in 2025, but his raw tools are intriguing enough to still be drafted high in a weaker class.
We will have to wait a year to find out if that is true, however, as he will be returning to the Gamecocks for another season in 2026.
LaNorris Sellers draft decision leaves Pittsburgh Steelers with few options in the 2026 NFL draft
We won't know how many QBs will actually declare for the 2026 draft until after the College Football Playoffs, as many of the top prospects are preparing to play in them. Mendoza is almost certain to declare, but Moore and Alabama's Ty Simpson are the names to watch for.
Even if all three enter the draft, the Steelers will have a hard time getting in position to draft any of them. There are multiple teams that are guaranteed to be picking ahead of them with major QB needs, and many of them have more draft assets to move up the board if it's required.
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Sellers may have been polarizing enough to slide down the board far enough for Pittsburgh to take a chance on him. With how raw he still is, he could have sat behind whatever veteran the Steelers will inevitably pursue in free agency this offseason.
It would still be a massive risk, one similar to what the Colts tried when drafting Anthony Richardson in 2023. We have seen how that has worked out for them, but it wouldn't require the fourth-overall pick to take the swing as it did for Indianapolis.
Overall, the Sellers news leaves the Steelers in a tough spot. It looks more and more likely that they may have to wait until 2027 to draft their next franchise QB hopeful. Maybe it's for the best, but fans are undoubtedly tired of streaming veteran starters every year.