It's NFL Draft week, which means smoke screen season is in full force. As NFL insiders and analysts rush to connect the dots to who could be the selection for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Round 1, we sift through the smoke to dissect where the team's biggest interest in some of the top draft prospects actually lies.
Like Kevin Colbert before him, Steelers general manager Omar Khan has specific pre-draft habits that can help us figure out which players are legitimately on Pittsburgh's first-round radar. Khan has drafted three straight players in the first round who were 30 visits with the team. This is a streak that started before Khan and has continued for five straight seasons—longer than any team in the league.
While respected voices in the business want to link players to Pittsburgh based on scheme fit and positional need, there's more to it than that. We've been following the Steelers' every move this offseason, and we can finally connect the dots to players they've shown the most interest in.
The following three players have all been linked to the Steelers at one point or another during the pre-draft process. We've come up with a smoke meter to help fans distinguish between legitimate draft buzz and whispers that are nothing more than a spark.
Pittsburgh Steelers' smoke meter separates true Round 1 candidates from long-shot options
Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia
Smoke Meter: 6/10, Gaining heat
Monroe Freeling isn't the most popular selection in connection with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and many believe he could be long gone before Khan is on the clock at pick No. 21. However, this is a player who technically checks enough boxes to be the selection... and the connection is quietly gaining steam.
Freeling did not earn a coveted 30 visit from the Steelers, and for that, this prospect earns just a 6/10 on the smoke meter. However, the talented offensive tackle quietly checked a major box as Khan and head coach Mike McCarthy were on hand at Georgia's Pro Day. Before Khan took over as GM for his first NFL Draft in 2023, this was the biggest predictor of who would be the Steelers' pick.
Freeling also tested as an exceptional athlete and put together some promising tape in 2025. Meanwhile, some oddsmakers have Freeling's over/under at pick 20.5, and with the Steelers picking No. 21, this tracks.
With Broderick Jones entering what could be his final season and recovering from a neck injury, there are plenty of reasons to believe that Monroe Freeling could be on the Steelers' Round 1 radar as a legitimate option early in the draft.
Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama
Smoke Meter: 1/10, Spark
The Steelers need a quarterback, so why not Ty Simpson in Round 1, right? In theory, this makes sense, but Pittsburgh's brass has expressed little interest in the polarizing Alabama prospect.
Since sitting down for a formal meeting with Simpson at the NFL Combine in late February, the Steelers haven't done anything to further pursue this player in the NFL Draft. Khan and McCarthy skipped out on Simpson's Pro Day workout, and Simpson didn't earn a valuable pre-draft visit.
Meanwhile, the Steelers have held 30 visits with QB prospects projected in the third to fourth-round range—names like Miami's Carson Beck, North Dakota State's Cole Payton, and Arkansas' Taylen Green. This is where the team feels poised to dip their feet in the QB pool.
Despite the team's need to find a long-term quarterback, Simpson is barely on the Steelers' draft radar. This is just a spark, at best, and for that, I'll give this a mere 1/10 on the Steelers' smoke meter.
Olaivavega Ioane, G, Penn State
Smoke Meter: 9/10, Blazing
For most of the pre-draft process, it was hard to get a gauge on how the Pittsburgh Steelers felt about Vega Ioane. Because of the team's massive need at left guard and the fact that the Penn State prospect is the best pure guard prospect in the class, we could assume there was always interest on their part, but we didn't see it until recently.
The Steelers didn't have a reported formal meeting with Ioane at the NFL Combine, and they sent just an area scout to Penn State's Pro Day despite the short drive to State College. Things were looking discouraging until it was reported that Pittsburgh's brass hosted Ioane for a pre-draft visit last week.
Now this potential selection went from mostly smoke to a full blaze just like that. Ioane is considered a consensus top-15 prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft, so there's no guarantee he makes it to Pittsburgh's selection at pick No. 21.
But now that he checks all of the most important boxes we look for in a Steelers first-round pick, this could very well be the top player they are eying. This is far more than smoke; this connection is a blazing 9/10 on the smoke meter.
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