If you entered draft week questioning whether the Pittsburgh Steelers would select a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft, it appears we already have our answer. Before the Las Vegas Raiders are officially on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick to start the draft, Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy already made one thing painfully obvious: his team will draft a QB.
McCarthy sat down with general manager Omar Khan to speak with the media for the Steelers' annual pre-draft press conference ahead of the NFL Draft. In addition to shutting down player trade buzz and fielding questions about recent draft trends, Khan and McCarthy were asked about the team's quarterback position.
McCarthy chimed in and made it clear that this is the most important position in football, noting that his offense revolves around the QB position. The newcomer head coach all but guaranteed his team will take a quarterback in the 2026 draft.
"I think [quarterback] is a position... we speak on it as being the most important position in football. We want to add to it," McCarthy told the media on Monday.
It doesn't get much clearer than that.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will take a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft, based on Mike McCarthy's comments
This shouldn't be a shocker by any stretch of the imagination. On Monday, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that quarterback Aaron Rodgers is not expected to give the Steelers an answer on a decision prior to the NFL Draft. Because of this, the team is heading into the draft with just Will Howard and Mason Rudolph.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh spent a lot of time and resources meeting with quarterbacks during the pre-draft process, and the sweet spot for them already appears obvious—it looks like they could take this QB swing late in the third round or with one of their fourth-round picks.
The Steelers hosted Penn State's Drew Allar, Miami's Carson Beck, North Dakota State's Cole Payton, and Arkansas' Taylen Green for 30 visits in the weeks and days leading up to the deadline. They also wanted to meet with LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier, but both parties couldn't align on a pre-draft visit for scheduling reasons.
Because of this, and the lack of interest in Alabama's Ty Simpson during the pre-draft process, it seems there is only a small chance the Steelers address the quarterback position in the first two rounds. Rather, we can expect a quarterback as early as Round 3.
With 12 picks at their disposal—and arguably a bigger need at quarterback than any team in the league—Mike McCarthy's comments shouldn't come as a surprise. Barring something unforeseen, this team will draft a quarterback in 2026. You can take that to the bank.
Add us as a preferred source on Google