Steelers — 2026 Draft Recap

Welcome back to Muffed. The Pittsburgh Steelers walked out of the 2026 draft with ten picks, hosted the whole thing in their own backyard, and turned in a haul that tilted hard toward offense — even if Omar Khan insists that wasn't the plan. The headliner is Max Iheanachor, the Arizona State tackle at pick 21, but this class is bigger than one name. Pittsburgh retooled the passing game on Day 2, doubled down on the offensive line, and closed with a moment you can't script — a hometown kid off the board with their final pick.

Start up front, where Khan spent his most expensive chip. The 2025 line gave up 31 sacks and 63 quarterback hits — not catastrophic, but not a unit you ignore when this kind of athletic talent is sitting there. They didn't. Iheanachor at 21 is a Relative Athletic Score monster — quick definition, Relative Athletic Score is a 0-to-10 grade comparing a player's combine and pro-day testing to every prospect at his position since 1987. Iheanachor came in at 9.87 for offensive tackle. Top 2 percent of every tackle ever tested. Mike McCarthy openly said Iheanachor took up football late and there's, quote, a lot of growth to come — the polite coaching way of saying the traits are absurd and the tape is still catching up. Then at pick 96, Pittsburgh added Iowa's Gennings Dunker, a 9.61 Relative Athletic Score at guard — top 4 percent — with McCarthy effusive about the fit. Two linemen, two elite athletic profiles.

The passing game got four picks, and this is where the class gets interesting. Pittsburgh traded up to pick 47 for Alabama receiver Germie Bernard — Khan said the trade-up speaks for how they feel about him. Bernard went 64 catches, 862 yards, 7 touchdowns in the SEC, 7th in the conference in receiving yards, with a predicted points added — the college version of NFL expected points added — of plus 0.56 per play, plus 67.84 on the season. His Relative Athletic Score was 9.18. Top 8 percent of receivers ever tested. A smashed pick on paper. At 76, they grabbed Penn State quarterback Drew Allar. The college line is modest — 103 of 159, 1,100 yards, 8 touchdowns, 3 picks, predicted points added of plus 0.25 per play — but McCarthy was unambiguous about intent. Quote, it's about training the whole room together. He called Allar a young man who can throw the ball with the best of them and made clear the Aaron Rodgers question doesn't change the plan. Quarterback room investment, not quarterback controversy. At 121, Iowa's Kaden Wetjen — Khan was blunt that Wetjen is here to fix the return game, quote, the top guy in that area in my opinion. His 6.21 Relative Athletic Score is middle of the pack at receiver, but the role is special teams first. And at 169, Indiana tight end-fullback hybrid Riley Nowakowski, a national-championship captain with a predicted points added of plus 0.58 per play on 32 catches for 387 yards. McCarthy lit up — versatility off the charts, two-back ability, four-core special teamer. A Day 3 pick with a specific job.

Flip to defense. The 2025 pass defense surrendered 30 touchdown passes and 4,437 yards through the air, so when a top 1 percent athletic corner falls to the third round, you take him. Pittsburgh did, at pick 85: Georgia's Daylen Everette, a 9.90 Relative Athletic Score — top 1 percent of every corner measured since 1987 — with real production behind it: 48 tackles and 8 pass breakups for a Georgia defense that finished 8th in the SEC in pass deflections. Then at 224, Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings — 200-plus pounds, an 8.89 Relative Athletic Score, and Khan specifically flagged the size-and-speed combination plus special teams value.

The run defense got one swing — Notre Dame defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio at pick 210. His Relative Athletic Score was 4.82, below average for an interior lineman. McCarthy didn't flinch: quote, he's a Pittsburgh Steeler defensive lineman, an outstanding fit for the 3-4, called it a no-brainer. That's the coach telling you scheme and tape outvoted the testing number.

And then the moment of the weekend. With pick 230, Pittsburgh took Navy fullback Eli Heidenreich — a Pittsburgh native — and the building came unglued. Heidenreich is a wild profile: 77 carries for 499 yards, 51 catches for 941 yards — 4th in the AAC in receiving yards as a fullback — a predicted points added of plus 0.58 per play, plus 83.51 on the season, and a 9.28 Relative Athletic Score that grades him as a receiver, not a fullback. McCarthy said they're opening the playbook, that he can align in the slot or in the backfield, and invoked Randall Cobb as a positional comp. Rushing offense pick on paper. Chess piece in practice.

Pick of the draft. You can argue Bernard — they traded up, and the SEC profile is the most polished offensive piece in the class. You can argue Everette — a top 1 percent athletic corner in the third round is the kind of value teams build secondaries around. The pick is Iheanachor. The other two are excellent additions to functioning rooms. Iheanachor is a 21st overall investment in a tackle whose ceiling — by the coaching staff's own admission — hasn't been approached yet. You don't find 9.87 athletic tackles in free agency, and the developmental runway is the whole point. Bernard and Everette are plug-in contributors. Iheanachor is the multi-year bet that reshapes the line of scrimmage if the development lands.

Looking ahead, the question isn't whether the skill talent improved — Bernard, Wetjen, Nowakowski and Heidenreich answer that. The question is whether the offensive line coalesces fast enough to make it work. McCarthy spent real time at the podium on positional flexibility up front, left side versus right side, how the rookies integrate. Two elite athletic linemen are now in the building alongside a quarterback room he says he'll coach the hell out of. A lot of new pieces, one offseason. If the front holds, this class ages beautifully. If it doesn't, all the receiver and quarterback investment in the world won't matter.