While the Pittsburgh Steelers are fighting for their season right now, many fans have kept an active eye on the 2026 NFL Draft—specifically, quarterbacks are the talk of the town, as Pittsburgh is favored to try and land their next franchise quarterback in 2026.
The team has rallied behind an elderly Aaron Rodgers, but no one should be kidding themselves right now. This isn’t a Super Bowl contender, and Rodgers is not a long-term answer. Even if he returns for one final season, finding the future face of the franchise is paramount. The most successful teams do this in the draft.
If you listen to draft analyst Todd McShay, however, this would be a massive mistake.
On the Rich Eisen show, McShay said teams in need of a quarterback should wait another season to draft one. He went so far as to say that 2027 could be one of the best quarterback classes ever.
While I am all for practicing patience when drafting a quarterback, McShay’s reasons are silly. If the Steelers are confident in a prospect, they would be foolish not to take him.
The Pittsburg Steelers can’t focus on 2027 when making their quarterback decision
About this time last year, the NFL was saying a very similar story about the 2026 quarterback class. It was headlined by a flurry of names that had top draft pick potential. From Arch Manning to Drew Allar to LaNorris Sellers, it seemed like this class would be loaded with a variety of quarterback options.
The well dried up quickly.
Those aforementioned top three names had so many issues that they aren’t even declaring for the draft. Other options like Cade Klubnik and Garrett Nussmeier failed to live up to expectations.
The only constant has been Fernando Mendoza, who has maintained his status as a top draft pick. We also saw Dante Moore and Ty Simpson rise up the ranks. Neither are they locked to declare for the draft.
While the class in 2027 looks better on paper, that means very little. Odds are we will have a very different opinion on that class once the dust settles next year.
Do the Steelers need to draft a quarterback next year? Absolutely not. Forcing yourself into a corner like that is foolish. However, if the right opportunity presents itself, you should seize it.
While Mendoza will likely be one of the top picks, if the Steelers can feasibly move up for either Moore or Simpson and are confident in their ability to be a franchise quarterback, the team needs to pull the trigger.
On the flip side, doing what they did when they drafted Kenny Pickett is an equally foolish move. Putting all of your chips in the draft and hoping the right player falls to you despite the obvious issues on paper.
However, completely ignoring your quarterback room because the 2027 draft class looks better on paper is the wrong move. The Steelers need to invest time and resources in landing their next franchise quarterback, and looking ahead a year in the draft won’t help them with that.