The Pittsburgh Steelers are focused on the 2027 season. But if this team falls flat on its face again with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, general manager Omar Khan and the organization will finally understand why it's time to end the stop-gap veteran QB experiment.
Despite spending the No. 76 overall pick on Penn State's Drew Allar, the Steelers know they will need to take a bigger swing in the NFL Draft if they want to find a true franchise quarterback. Allar will be lucky to see a regular-season snap in 2026, and Pittsburgh can't put all of its eggs into that basket.
But there's one well-known QB prospect who's expected to be long gone before the Steelers are on the clock.
Arch Manning, the grandson of Archie Manning and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, had a slow start to his collegiate career at Texas, but he's expected to be one of the top picks in the 2027 NFL Draft. But in a recent mock draft from Pro Football Network, Jacob Infante has the Steelers making a bold trade up to the No. 2 pick in the 2027 draft to select Manning.
Ifante has the Steelers leapfrogging the New York Jets, who are forced to pivot to Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker. In this PFSN mock, Oregon's Dante Moore goes No. 1 to the Arizona Cardinals.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could take massive QB swing in 2027 draft
It's probably safe to assume the Steelers will pick between 16 and 25, based on their projected finish for the 2026 season. This means that getting as high as the No. 2 pick in the 20267 NFL Draft may be a nearly impossible task. It would cost Pittsburgh an arm and a leg to move from the middle of the first round to the No. 2 pick, and I'm not convinced they'd be willing to trade up that high.
While this PFSN mock might have missed the mark on where the Steelers would be picking (even in a trade-up) and the quarterback they could land, everyone knows that Pittsburgh should be in the hunt for a franchise signal-caller after the 2026 season.
Arch Manning was a five-star recruit and the No. 1 overall recruit in the nation in 2023. With size, arm talent, and mobility, he offers the full toolset (and it doesn't help that he has impressive family ties).
If Manning has a good season in 2026, it's probably safe to assume that he will be out of Pittsburgh's draft range. This means that the Steelers may be forced to pivot to a player like OSU's Drew Mestemaker, Notre Dame's CJ Carr, or even Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby (who has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons).
Despite Manning's slow start at Texas, most Steelers fans would sign up for this mock draft in a heartbeat. We need to let the 2026 season play out, but it's no surprise to see Pittsburgh getting aggressive in the latest mock draft for QB help.
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