The Pittsburgh Steelers are having a roller coaster of a season, but after 14 weeks, they sit atop the AFC North with a 7-6 record. If the Steelers can hold things together down the stretch of the season, they will win the division and make the playoffs, where anything can happen. Still, regardless of how the season ends for Pittsburgh, the team has a ton of issues it needs to address, and that’s why the 2026 Draft will be huge for the franchise.
With the draft still months away, the Steelers have several directions they could go in the first round. A few of FanSided’s draft experts looked at a couple of those directions in a recent 2026 mock draft.
The three experts, Mike Luciano, Marcus Mosher, and Ryan Fowler, each picked a prospect for all 32 slots. For the Steelers, picking at No. 14, Luciano and Mosher predicted the team would land Ohio State receiver Carnell Tate, while Fowler had Pittsburgh drafting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.
Steelers land offensive playmakers in recent mock draft
It’s been clear all season that Pittsburgh needs a WR2. The team moved on from George Pickens, who’s having a career year this season, and it proved to be a costly decision, as the Steelers have struggled to find competent wide receiver play outside of DK Metcalf. Adding Carnell Tate in the first round would certainly help with that.
Tate, arguably the top receiver in the 2026 Draft class, is likely nearing the end of a productive college career at Ohio State. This season, he has 48 receptions for 838 yards and nine touchdowns. That’s why Mosher referred to Tate as “the ideal fit” to complement Metcalf. The question, though, is who would be throwing the duo the ball.
That’s why the other predicted pick of Ty Simpson, by Fowler, is understandable in the sense that Pittsburgh needs a quarterback of the future. However, that quarterback is unlikely to be Simpson. The first-year starter for the Tide has struggled down the stretch of his season, and his stock isn’t as high as it once was. If he still decides to declare for the draft, he probably won’t go in the first round, unless a team like the Steelers just desperately reaches. That means Pittsburgh is more likely to end up with a playmaker like Tate.