The Pittsburgh Steelers wasted no time making a splash in free agency, and an underrated storyline was lost in the shuffle. Jamel Dean, an excellent cornerback who is joining the team on a three-year contract, won't count against the Steelers' compensatory formula in the 2027 NFL Draft. Now, Pittsburgh has a chance to exploit the NFL's comp formula even further.
Recently, the Green Bay Packers released a pair of veterans who make sense for the Steelers—offensive guard Elgton Jenkins and cornerback Nate Hobbs. (Yes, Pittsburgh signed two cornerbacks so far, but there's still room for a quality depth signing.)
Instead of chasing alternative overpriced options in free agency, the Steelers could throw their hat in the ring for Jenkins and Hobbs.
In the process, Omar Khan could take advantage of the NFL's compensatory draft pick formula, much like he did last year.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can exploit the NFL's comp pick formula by signing Elgton Jenkins and Nate Hobbs
Teams have to fill roster holes—there's no getting around it. Each franchise also has to spend a certain amount of money in a three-year window. Between departures and incoming players, most teams usually come close to breaking even with outgoing and incoming contracts. Thus, teams are typically awarded either limited or no compensatory draft picks.
But the Steelers already learned how to exploit that.
Last year, Pittsburgh had plenty of outgoing free agents—like Dan Moore Jr., Russell Wilson, and Justin Fields—who signed sizable contracts with new teams. Instead of spending big last offseason, Khan and the front office went after cheaper signings and those that didn't count against the compensatory formula (like Darius Slay).
These moves resulted in the Steelers being gifted loads of extra draft picks this year—a third-rounder, a fourth-rounder, and two sixth-round picks. This gives them a total of 12 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft and loads of options to move up for players they love.
Now they could do something similar in this free agency period.
Michael Pittman Jr. was acquired via trade, so he doesn't count against the comp formula, while Rico Dowdle was a small enough signing that it may only cross off a potential sixth-round comp pick. Meanwhile, because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jamel Dean mutually agreed to shorten the cornerbacks' contract last season, Dean's contract does not count against the compensatory formula.
Right now, the Steelers are net positive—on track to earn multiple comp picks next season. If they fill their remaining guard and cornerback holes with Elgton Jenkins and Nate Hobbs, they can continue to manipulate the comp formula.
This only works if there are respectable free agents at the positions of need that a team is looking to fill. In this case, there is. Jenkins might be the best overall left guard option on the market, while Hobbs—who played his best football with the Las Vegas Raiders under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham—is an obvious fit with Pittsburgh.
These two former Green Bay Packers players would not only improve the Steelers' roster, but they would also keep a quiet objective going in next year's NFL Draft.
Adding Jenkins and Hobbs wouldn't just make the Steelers more competitive in 2026; it would also give them more swings on draft picks in 2027 to help reshape the future roster (assuming Pittsburgh doesn't spend big in free agency on other players who could cancel out the formula).