It's hard to get excited about what the Pittsburgh Steelers have done during the NFL's negotiation. With teams permitted to discuss and come to terms on contract language with free agents before free agency officially opens, general manager Omar Khan and the front office have been sitting on their hands.
Players like Jaylen Warren and Ryan McCollum will return to the team on tenders, but when it comes to free agency moves, you can see the proverbial tumbleweed drift across your computer screen. While the Steelers did agree to a deal with 34-year-old cornerback Darius Slay, they have loads of talent departing in free agency for new teams.
Leaving the team via free agency on new contacts are players like Justin Fields, Dan Moore Jr., James Daniels, Najee Harris, Donte Jackson, and Elandon Roberts—all of whom were former starters for the Steelers.
But the news isn't all bad.
Though Pittsburgh's free agency has been as dull as ever in the early going, the Steelers are racking up projected compensatory picks like nobody's business.
Because the Steelers have numerous departing players who agreed to terms on massive salaries, Khan and the front office are going to reap the benefits of their losses. That won't happen until the 2026 NFL Draft, but better late than never.
Over the Cap is keeping tabs on every team's projected comp picks for next season, and the Steelers are sitting pretty.
Pittsburgh Steelers projected compensatory picks in 2026 NFL Draft
- 3rd-round comp pick (OT Dan Moore Jr.)
- 4th-round comp pick (QB Justin Fields)
- 5th-round comp pick (RB Najee Harris)
- 6th-round comp pick (OG James Daniels)
We figured the Steelers could get a fourth-round compensatory pick by losing Justin Fields, but who would have guessed Pittsburgh would get a third-round comp pick for Dan Moore Jr.? Additionally, this team is on track for a pair of Day 3 compensatory picks thanks to the loss of Najee Harris and James Daniels in free agency.
These projected compensatory picks are subject to change and can be canceled out, depending on the contracts the Steelers have yet to hand out in free agency. Chances are, they won't hand out a deal big enough to cancel out their third-round comp pick for Moore, and their fourth-rounder is likely safe at this point with the biggest free agent names off the market.
Pittsburgh Steelers must be wise with free agent spending
Right now, Omar Khan and Andy Weidl are projected to have loads of draft capital to work with in the 2026 NFL Draft. This is a great thing. By next season, the Pittsburgh Steelers could be in a situation where they need to trade up high into the draft to land a franchise quarterback, and these added picks give them the firepower to do so.
Now they have to be careful with their free agent spending.
While I normally wouldn't advocate going the full-blown Dallas Cowboys route and simply loading up on comp picks at the risk of missing out on free-agent talent, Pittsburgh doesn't want to cancel out the valuable compensatory formula they've earned so far. They've already missed out on the top talents available, so they might as well let the free-agent waters cool before they dip their toes in the pool.
Continuing to sign players who get cut could be the way to go. Players who are released wouldn't count against the compensatory formula if signed by a new team, while players with expiring contracts who hit the free agent market would.
This means that signing players like Aaron Rodgers and Cooper Kupp would not impact any of the projected picks the Steelers are expected to receive.
At the end of the day, the Pittsburgh Steelers need to understand that they are in a marathon, not a sprint. Biting the bullet and accepting an underwhelming free agent haul this offseason could result in loads of additional capital in the 2026 NFL Draft.