Steelers 2026 Draft Class

Rich Eisen was saying that he really liked the Steelers draft. He particularly liked the Iheanachor, Bernard, Dunker, Allar and Heidenreich picks.

 

I liked the Bernard pick. And the Eli Heidenreich pock. Also, Iheanachor was the correct pick even though i was personally enamored by KC Concepcion. The best tackle left was a smart decision. We could have gotten 2 good WRs in the 2nd and 3rd if we wanted to. We got one and passed on Bell and a few others with multiple picks. But ee definitely weren't going to get a Tackle after 1.

All the other picks, i didn't like. Allar was too early. The corner was a 6th rd pick at best. The TE was bleh, the punt returner in the 4th was just silly. Even he didn't think he had a chance of getting drafted (at all, talk less in the 4th)

Pregnon, Bell, safety or Linebacker in the 3rd. Allar (if you must) could have been taken in the 4th) Everrette, could have been had in the 5th. An actual Nose tackle in the 6th then Eli and Wetjen in the 7th

And we'd have had an a plus draft. That said, i see 5 starters / key contributors in this draft. So not bad in the aggregate. But the process left a lot to be desired.

 

That’s reasonable but the Steelers clearly wanted Lemon more and got out smarted. Max might not have been there in Rd 2 I can’t say that for sure but Lemon another tackle rd 2 and anyone over Allar would have been a better draft IMO. Allar was a complete waste the guy has 0 mental toughness and pissed down his leg in every big game he’s played in at the College level.

 

If Max pans out in a year or so and we have another solid tackle then things change for sure. Thanks for the insight.

 

Realistically... only about 3-4 of these players will contribute. 5-6 out of 10 picks would be an amazing draft. Look no further to previous drafts since 2020. Not many of those guys are left.

 

I wonder how many of the 10 actually make the 53 or whatever it is now?

 

I will say 6 and 2 on the practice squad and 2 will not make the Team in any way.

 

From everything I saw pre-draft, there was a big fall off after Max and Lomu. With that in mind, I would not have been surprised if a team jumped up into the first to grab either of them, or at least very early in the second.

 

Yes, we know that they would have preferred Lemon over Max, but how much more? Would they have coughed up both 4th rounders to get him? They drafted a player (Malachi Lawrence) who was projected to go anywhere from where they took him to the end of round 2, so were probably just as happy to draft 23 as 21.

Considering the reports from guys like Cowher who said he spoke with them before the draft and they loved Max, I don't know if they'd be willing to give up their 2 fourth rounders had Dallas called them.

 

Agree except for the Lemon fiasco. Didn't want him. Glad the Steelers were saved from themselves.

 

Agreed that the Lemon fiasco was pure amateur hour. An embarrassment through and through. The football FO version of the nightmare you had in school showing up for class and realizing you're naked.

But....you knew there had to be a but

The idea that some people are pushing that they got caught off guard and panicked into somehow picking a player who wasn't next on their list is laughable. Especially considering that they likely came into the night expecting that there was little chance they'd see Lemon fall to 21. They've been putting together a big board for months, they had plans for every contingency, and Max was obviously their guy if the board fell as it did.

Like you say, he's a raw, development project. I'm also excited to see how he turns out. The guy has more college starts and better film coming out than our last project Jones.

 

Do they have Harrison under contract?

 

BAL in top 5....PIT slides, CIN jumps, ... CLE? well, further from the bottom by one:

EDIT: Was going to add that if BAL was a SB favorite last year and this year they jump up two spots in the power rankings, does that mean they are a SB lock??

 

Well that makes complete sense

 

People need to stop equivocating a player being raw at the position vs a player being inexperienced at the positon in relation to Max vs Broderick anyways. Max has superior experience but is just inconsistent right now. He isnt nearly as consistently inconsistent as Broderick was. Broderick does have him beat in athlelticism but not by much. Max does possess faster, quicker and more explosive footwork than Broderick did coming out of Georgia though.


Up to James Campen and Jahri Evans. More specifically, where he is going to end up. I hope Right Tackle but we shall see.

 

In other words, another season without a NT.

Yes, unfortunately Queen will remain on the team.

 

On some boards he was a 2nd rounder. I am not totally against the pick, but I would have rather had McDonald, Thienemen or Rodriguez. Yes, perhaps too high for Rodriguez, but ILBs would all be gone by 53. Although, Hill was there at 53. We have two of the worst ILBs in the NFL as starters. Well, it is what is.

 

I would be surprised and disappointed if Spears-Jennings doesn't make the team. He was another guy who probably shouldn't have made it to the seventh round. He joins a team with a weak group at safety and would likely be a gunner on special teams for them. Maybe he replaces Pierre in that respect.

I think Rubio is the one least likely to make the team. I agree on the others. I think Nowakowski is going to make it because they need someone who can play fullback. Wetjen would have to be terrible to not make the team. I certainly hope Heidenreich makes the team. He is also going to have to play special teams. I think he is going to end up transitioning full-time to receiver, which may take some time.

 

Looks about right to me.

 

Draft could have gone better. Seeing Nussmeier and Payton go much later, wish we had drafted an LB or S when we drafted Allar, that would have made this an above average draft even if you keep the bewildering 4th and 6th round picks.

I just want to know what Khan is going to do, or if he plans to do anything about the awful MLB/ILB situation. Easily the biggest, most glaring weakness on the team (QB aside, pending camp results of Allar/Howard and if AR signs), if we go into the season with the ILB depth chart, teams will exploit this weaknesse unmercifully. I can only hope Graham can find a way to mask or limit the damage. Maybe play 3 DT with Watt and Highsmith and go with 5 DB/S and keep ILBs on the field at 1. Tackle-missing machine Queen will be on the field I suppose, but hopefully not every down.

 

Wagner still an UFA and still playing at a high level.

 

Worth that dart throw if the salary fits under the cap. Almost hope they can pawn Queen off with a day 3 draft pick and get a better ILB in his place.

 

I suppose Khan is basically leaving it all to Patrick Graham and the hopeful ascension of the likes of Payton Wilson and Carson Bruener in a new scheme. I still have my doubts about Patrick Queen but he hasn't been a complete liability overall. He is simply inconsistent and that is what is the most frustrating aspect about him; very bad doubly so as the ILB who is operating the green dot.