The Pittsburgh Steelers’ first draft following the Mike Tomlin era is still a few months away, but fans are no less hopeful that the Mike McCarthy era will begin on the right foot with the team’s first-round pick.
Certainly, Steelers fans had hoped that the franchise could find its long-term solution at quarterback this offseason, but with Aaron Rodgers becoming a stronger possibility to return in 2026 and the state of the position in this draft class, that may not happen. In any event, the team needs to continue building the offense so that when a long-term answer is found, they can hit the ground running.
At first glance, most Steelers fans expect that to come by way of adding to the wide receiver corps. But Pro Football Focus’s latest mock draft sees the team going in a different direction to support not only a possible Rodgers return in 2026, but also whoever steps into the role after him.
Kadyn Proctor mock pick forces tough decision on Pittsburgh Steelers' former first-rounder
PFF’s Gordon McGuinness projected that the Steelers would spend the No. 21 overall pick on Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, having watched the top four receivers in the class come off the board in the top-14 picks.
For what it’s worth, Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion and Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr. were selected at No. 26 and 27 to Buffalo and San Francisco, respectively. Concepcion at 21 might be more palatable to Steelers fans, especially considering what drafting Proctor would mean on the offensive line.
Obviously, if the Steelers were to draft Proctor, it’s to play left tackle. He was a three-year starter at the position at Alabama, despite his brief transfer to Iowa in 2024, and by all accounts, his most recent season was his best. If Proctor is playing left tackle, that leaves former first-round pick Broderick Jones without a spot.
Jones was a raw prospect when he was taken No. 14 overall in 2023, and his development didn’t go smoothly. Jones finally got the chance to be the unquestioned left tackle in 2025, struggling considerably early before settling into a groove. Nonetheless, his season was ended by a neck injury, though thankfully, Dylan Cook played well in relief down the final stretch of the campaign.
Granted, the severity of Jones’ injury isn’t public knowledge. That’s information that Omar Khan and Mike McCarthy have at their disposal when configuring the offensive line for 2026. Even still, it’s not as though Jones hasn’t largely played at a replaceable level for most of his time as a starter, even if many Steelers fans recognize the coaching malpractice that played a role in it all.
Nonetheless, if Rodgers is the quarterback in 2026, the team has to do a better job of protecting him. Proctor allowed just five sacks over the past two seasons after allowing 12 his freshman season, though former Alabama QB Jalen Milroe certainly owns some of the blame there. The 6-foot-7, 366-pound tackle is a strong run-blocker too, so he checks all of the boxes as a mid-first-round prospect, and maybe even more so than Jones did in 2023.
Still, a selection like Proctor would leave plenty of questions for Jones. Is a move inside to the otherwise vacant left guard spot a realistic possibility? It seems favorable, as strong a run-blocker as he is, but the move from left tackle to left guard comes with a big slice of humble pie (and smaller paychecks). Do the Steelers look to trade Jones? It’s hard to imagine he commands a high return on the trade market.
Steelers fans will hopefully have a clearer idea of what the franchise’s intentions for the offensive line truly are in the coming weeks. Then we can have a better idea of just how viable left tackle is as a first-round position worth targeting.