AFC North · 2026 Draft Class

Pittsburgh Steelers 2026 NFL Draft Class

Every Steelers selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, the needs they entered the weekend with, and the trades that reshaped their board.

Compiled by the NFL Mock Draft Simulator research desk · Front office at the time: Omar Khan (GM), Mike McCarthy (HC)

The class

Pittsburgh Steelers made 10 selections in the 2026 draft, opening with Max Iheanachor, a offensive tackle out of Arizona State, at No. 21 overall.

The class skewed toward wide receiver, where they used 2 picks. In total they drafted 8 different positions.

Going into the weekend our board had their priority needs listed as Wide Receiver, Offensive Tackle, Interior Offensive Line, Safety, Quarterback, Linebacker. They addressed 5 of their 6 pre-draft needs directly: Wide Receiver, Offensive Tackle, Interior Offensive Line, Safety, Quarterback. Left unaddressed: Linebacker.

Their best value relative to the consensus board was Gennings Dunker at No. 96, 27 slots later than the industry board had him ranked (69).

Draft capital

Steelers draft capital broke down as 1 Day 1 pick, 4 on Day 2 and 5 on Day 3. 7 were slots they did not own when the weekend began, acquired by trade.

Pick by pick

Every Steelers selection, with where it landed against our consensus board and against their own pre-draft needs list.

• Round 1, No. 21: Steelers took Max Iheanachor, within 16 slots of his board ranking of 37. Offensive Tackle was their No. 2 listed need.
• Round 2, No. 47: Steelers took Germie Bernard on Day 2, within 7 slots of his board ranking of 54. It was their single highest-priority need going in.
• Round 3, No. 76: Steelers moved on Drew Allar on Day 2, 57 slots early, which is what a team does when it has decided the board is wrong.
• Round 3, No. 85: Steelers moved on Daylen Everette on Day 2, 22 slots ahead of his board ranking, which is conviction rather than value. Cornerback was not on their priority needs list, a best-player-available call.
• Round 3, No. 96: Steelers took Gennings Dunker on Day 2, a board-rank 69 player who fell 27 slots below where the consensus had him. Interior Offensive Line was their No. 3 listed need.
• Round 4, No. 121: Steelers moved on Kaden Wetjen on Day 3, 146 slots early, which is what a team does when it has decided the board is wrong. It was their single highest-priority need going in.
• Round 5, No. 169: Steelers spent a late-round flier on Riley Nowakowski, a board-rank 265 player. Tight End was not on their priority needs list, a best-player-available call.
• Round 6, No. 210: Steelers took Gabe Rubio on Day 3, a player who sat outside our ranked board.
• Round 7, No. 224: Steelers took Robert Spears-Jennings on Day 3, a board-rank 201 player whom the rest of the league passed on across 23 slots of board value.
• Round 7, No. 230: Steelers took Eli Heidenreich on Day 3, within 4 slots of his board ranking of 234. Running Back was not on their priority needs list, a best-player-available call.

Pre-draft needs

Our needs assessment for the Steelers going into the 2026 draft, ordered by priority. This is the list the class above is measured against.

Draft-day trades

• With Indianapolis Colts: sent No. 53 (R2), No. 135 (R4), No. 237 (R7); received No. 47 (R2), No. 249 (R7).
• With Seattle Seahawks: sent No. 99 (R3), No. 216 (R6); received No. 96 (R3).
• With Kansas City Chiefs: sent No. 161 (R5), No. 249 (R7); received No. 169 (R5), No. 210 (R6).

Related

• Round 1 results: every other pick made around the Steelers' first selection.
• Position rankings for the groups they drafted: Offensive Tackle, Wide Receiver, Quarterback, Cornerback, Interior Offensive Line, Tight End, Safety, Running Back.
• The 2026 consensus big board: where every one of these players ranked before the draft.
• Every trade from the 2026 draft: the full ledger, including the Steelers' moves.
• Steals and reaches: which picks diverged most from the board, and what that gap means.
• The draft by the numbers: positional supply, school production and how draft capital was distributed.

More on the Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers franchise hub carries the current front office and needs, plus every other class we cover.