We are less than two weeks from the start of the 2026 NFL Draft, and still no sign of Aaron Rodgers. Team president Art Rooney II gave the veteran quarterback a semi-hard deadline by the draft. But even if Rodgers bails, the Pittsburgh Steelers won't be forced into making a brash quarterback decision in the draft.
ESPN recently dropped the latest NFL Draft intel and nuggets for all 32 teams. For the Steelers, draft expert Matt Miller is hearing that 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard has support from the front office.
"The Steelers might not have a clear-cut quarterback of the future on the roster, but one internal source said that they won't be forced to draft one this year. That source noted Pittsburgh will play the board first and that Will Howard, last year's sixth-round pick, has fans in the front office," Miller wrote.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could roll with Will Howard and won't be forced to take a QB early in the NFL Draft
While we can't tell for certain how much truth there is to Miller's draft intel, it's an encouraging sign for many Steelers fans. At this stage, given the team has been in limbo for years, many fans are on board with handing Howard the reins for the 2026 season and seeing what happens.
Howard was a sixth-round pick for a reason. Though the national champion quarterback from Ohio State had an impressive run in college football, he doesn't possess great arm talent and was viewed as a future backup quarterback.
Still, Howard has some tools to work with, as the sixth-round pick possesses impressive size. The fact that he's highly regarded by members of the coaching staff and the front office is a good sign.
It's also encouraging to note that the Steelers won't be forced to take a quarterback early, simply because it's one of their biggest and most important needs. This is what they did in Round 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft (Kevin Colbert's final draft), and it led to an underwhelming Kenny Pickett selection that ultimately proved disastrous.
General manager Omar Khan worked under Colbert at the time, and he's no doubt learned from this mistake. If there's not a quarterback worth taking in Round 1 or Round 2, don't take one. It's as simple as that.
Instead, the Steelers have been eyeing late Day 2 and early Day 3 quarterback prospects—some with remarkable traits, like Cole Payton and Taylen Green. One of these boom-or-bust developmental prospects would be an ideal pairing with Howard (who may have capped upside) until Pittsburgh can take a massive swing at the position, maybe in the 2027 NFL Draft.