My first Pittsburgh Steelers mock draft of the 2026 cycle. This is a unique season in so many ways. A brand-new coaching staff risks changing our “Blue’s Clues” for how the franchise has drafted, even if GM Omar Khan remains in place. And as of now, there are a dozen projected picks Pittsburgh will use. Will the Steelers ultimately use them all? Probably not. But for now, we’ll act as if they will, in what could be a substantial roster shakeup.
A reminder, these mocks are in the spirit of what I think the team will do as opposed to my own rooting interests, but they will be more informed the closer we get to April’s draft. Normally, I consider an “others considered” for each selection, but I won’t do that until later mock drafts.
As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Round One – Avieon Terrell/CB Clemson: 5-11, 180 pounds
Analysis: It’s certainly possible the Steelers could land a wide receiver, the most popular position mocked here, or even a quarterback. But here, Pittsburgh selects a cornerback with the 21st overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Even with Mike Tomlin gone, the assessment of the team’s needs hasn’t changed. Pittsburgh needs answers for stopping in-division wideouts, especially the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, who are in Cincy for the long haul. These two guys cooked the Steelers in the Bengals’ primetime Week 7 win.
Pittsburgh’s answer was supposed to be Jalen Ramsey. He ended the year at safety, and should he return in 2026, it won’t be as an outside cornerback. Joey Porter Jr. made real progress by the end of the year, and James Pierre had a career season. But Pierre is also a pending free agent with a new coaching staff evaluating him. He might not be back.
Terrell could form one heck of a duo with Porter. He’s an easy-moving cover corner with an alpha mentality. Terrell isn’t a big-framed cornerback, but he is active around the line of scrimmage with nine career tackles for a loss and four sacks. Eight career forced fumbles really stick out on Terrell’s resume, including five in 2025. That comes from his effort and aggressive play on the football.
The Steelers love first-round bloodlines: Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, Terrell Edmunds, and Devin Bush are all examples. Terrell is the younger brother of Atlanta Falcons corner A.J. Terrell, and the two are close.
He checks plenty of boxes of need and talent. He’s the answer to divisional opponents’ passing games, and the pick for Pittsburgh.
Avieon Terrell Scouting Report
Round Two – Omar Cooper Jr./WR Indiana: 6-0, 204 pounds
Analysis: One of my draft crushes, the depth at receiver in this year’s class is strong enough to allow Pittsburgh to wait. Cooper may lack high-end wheels, but does everything else at a high level. He’s a strong route runner who gets open, something the Steelers desperately need. Cooper breaks tackles, blocks, and he plays outside and in the slot.
Pittsburgh can gain hidden insight into Cooper’s background and makeup. New wide receivers coach Adam Henry spent the 2022 season coaching a then-freshman Cooper at Indiana. He barely played, but as former Steelers’ receiver Demarcus Ayers told us, Henry was influential in Cooper’s development, which paid off years later.
Cooper can start Day One and make an impact in 11 personnel, assuming the Steelers sign a veteran receiver in free agency.
Omar Cooper Jr. Scouting Report
Round Three – Zakee Wheatley/S Penn State: 6-3, 200 pounds
Analysis: Safety is a need even if Jalen Ramsey makes it through the 2026 offseason. Pittsburgh’s secondary is older and needs more collective speed. Ramsey is, at best, a one-year option. Wheatley is a big body with free and strong versatility, though most of his snaps came at the former.
In 2026, he can play in dime packages (assuming they’re used after going all of 2025 without) and transition into a full-time starter for 2027. He’s a solid addition to the defensive backfield under new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
Zakee Wheatley Scouting Report
Round Three – Garrett Nussmeier/QB LSU: 6-1, 205 pounds
Analysis: Quarterback is the tricky position to project. But with 12 picks, at least in this current mock form, it’s hard to see Pittsburgh not draft the position. Nussmeier has ties to Mike McCarthy. His father, Doug, coached alongside McCarthy in Dallas from 2020-2022. Doug also played quarterback in the NFL, and McCarthy may like the “son of a player/coach” box Garrett will check.
The younger Nussmeier entered 2025 as a potential first-round quarterback. But poor play sent his stock spiraling. Perhaps that’s attributed to a core muscle injury he played through. Healthy at the Senior Bowl, he shone his way to being named the game’s MVP and was regarded as the top quarterback in Mobile. Physically, he shows enough tools, and if he can capture his 2024 form, the Steelers might have something here.
How does the quarterback depth chart shake out? That’s hard to say. Perhaps Mason Rudolph becomes the odd man out. But McCarthy likes drafting the position, and the Steelers need options until and unless they discover a long-term answer. I normally don’t like drafting quarterbacks past the Top 50, but with a dozen selections, it’s worth using one on the most important position in sports.
Garrett Nussmeier Scouting Report
Round Three – Dontay Corleone/NT Cincinnati: 6-2, 335 pounds
Analysis: Pittsburgh is missing a true run stuffer in the middle. The Steelers actively searched for one after Daniel Ekuale went down to a torn ACL. Though it’s a new coaching staff, the calculation remains the same.
Keeanu Benton had his best year in 2026, but his run defense was far from perfect. Corleone is a plugger listed at 335 pounds (he didn’t weigh in at the Shrine Bowl). His production fell off in 2025, but for his career, he recorded 123 tackles (17 TFL) and nine sacks.
Corleone will slot in behind Benton and rotate his way through his rookie year.
Round Four – Ar’maj Reed-Adams/OG Texas AM: 6-5, 317 pounds
Analysis: Guard is an interesting spot for Pittsburgh. Will the team re-sign Isaac Seumalo? He had a solid 2025 season, but turns 33 in October and won’t be cheap to keep. If he walks, is Spencer Anderson the slam dunk answer? Given the new coaching staff, competition – or at least, depth – is needed.
Reed-Adams is well-built and a strong run blocker with pop out of his stance. At Texas A&M, he played both guard spots, although his recent work came on the right side. Offensive line coach James Campen has a history of transforming mid-round linemen into gems, and Reed-Adams could be the next.
Ar’maj Reed-Adams Scouting Report
Round Four – Kaden Wetjen/WR-RET Iowa: 5-10, 191 pounds
Analysis: Following Ryan Paglia’s lead of suggesting Wetjen, though I am slotting him a couple of rounds higher. As Paglia pointed out, the increasing value of the kick return game makes the position far more valuable than it was five years ago. In 2023, teams averaged 18 kick returns in a season. Last year? Almost 65.
No player in the draft has been as effective in the return game as Wetjen. Over the past two years, he has four punt-return scores and two on kick returns. He’ll boost a Pittsburgh kick return unit that’s finished bottom-five in average over both years of the NFL’s dynamic kick return model and hasn’t returned a kick for a touchdown since 2017, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s rookie year. Yeah, it’s been a while.
Round Five – Red Murdock/ILB Buffalo: 6-1, 240 pounds
Analysis: The future of the inside linebacker position is murky. Does Patrick Queen stay? How about Malik Harrison? What is Payton Wilson’s future? He’ll be in Pittsburgh, but can he be trusted to play the run?
Murdock excelled at Buffalo. His 17 forced fumbles broke the NCAA record held by fellow Buffalo Bull Khalil Mack and his 16. In 2025, he tallied 142 tackles (13.5 TFL) with five sacks and six forced fumbles. He profiles as a downhill player, but that could replace Harrison, who may become a cap casualty under Mike McCarthy. If Wilson can’t improve his game, Murdock might even see base snaps as a rookie, though Carson Bruener shouldn’t be forgotten, too.
Round Six – Sam Roush/TE Stanford: 6-5, 260 pounds
Analysis: With 12 picks, the Steelers can address virtually every position group. Darnell Washington and Pat Freiermuth are clearly the team’s top two tight ends, but there are valid questions behind. Connor Heyward is a pending free agent who may not fit in Pittsburgh’s new system. Roush is a big body at 260 pounds with good career production, including a single-season best 49 receptions and 545 yards last season on a bad Cardinal team.
If Heyward doesn’t return, Roush will begin as the Steelers’ No. 3 tight end.
Round Six – Roman Hemby/RB Indiana: 6-0, 210 pounds
Analysis: Hemby earned a comparison to Kenneth Gainwell in my scouting report and would be a nice replacement should Gainwell hit free agency. A Maryland transfer who became Indiana’s lead back, Hemby is a natural receiver out of the backfield. He was used more in that fashion at Maryland than at Indiana, but he still showed his comfort with the Hoosiers.
There are questions about Hemby’s pass protection and running potency, but as a sixth-round pick, he offers value in versatility and his pass-catching chops.
Round Seven – Max Tomczak/WR Youngstown State: 6-0, 195 pounds
Analysis: A third receiver in the draft, though Wetjen is more of a returner than receiver. Tomczak’s last name should sound familiar to Steelers’ fans of a certain age. His father, Mike, played quarterback for Pittsburgh from 1993 to 1998.
Max is one of the better FCS prospects and is coming off a 1,000-yard season for the Penguins in 2025. A late-round flier with Steelers’ bloodlines very similar to drafting Carson Bruener a year ago.
Round Seven – E’Maurion Banks/DL Texas Tech: 6-5, 300 pounds
Analysis: Defensive line depth for the final pick. Banks was a rotational player for the Red Raiders, but with ideal listed measurables at 6-5, 300 pounds. His production was marginal but steady throughout his career, totaling three tackles for loss and three sacks in 2025. He has a connection with the new Steelers’ OLBs coach, C.J. Ah You, who coached at Texas Tech, which helps put Banks on the team’s radar.