With the loss to the Houston Texans on Monday night, the Steelers’ season is officially over. There will be some time in the coming days to reflect on the season’s highs and lows, but all eyes eventually look forward to the NFL Draft. The Steelers now know where they’ll be picking in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Updated 2026 NFL Draft order

Coming into Wild Card Weekend, picks 1-18 were already cemented. Now, with six more teams eliminated from the playoffs, the picture is all the more clear.

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According to NFL Operations, picks are awarded based on a team’s record, disregarding what seed they were in the playoffs. In the instances of a tie, the team whose strength of schedule was weaker is awarded the more valuable pick.

Pittsburgh was the only team to go 10-7 in 2025, making the math for their draft slot rather simple. The only playoff teams with worse records were Carolina and Green Bay, meaning the Steelers will once again be picking 21st (my favorite number, for whatever little that’s worth). The Steelers most recently picked 21st in the 2025 draft.

Here is the full draft order so far, with eight teams remaining in title contention:

New York Jets (from IND): 8-9 (.540)

Dallas Cowboys (from GB): 9-7-1

Cleveland Browns (from JAX): 13-4

To be determined

Los Angeles Rams: 12-5 (.526)

Pittsburgh and the history of the 21st pick

The Steelers have picked from the 21st spot five times in team history:

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WR Lynn Swann, USC (1974)

LB Robin Cole, New Mexico (1977)

DE Gabriel Rivera, Texas Tech (1983)

TE Eric Green, Liberty (1990)

DT Derrick Harmon, Oregon (2025)

While I won’t say that it is a treasure trove compared to any other draft slot, there is a fairly good list of players that have been chosen 21st over the years, especially in the last 30 years or so:

WR Johnnie Morton, USC (1994)

WR Randy Moss, Marshall (1998)

DT Vince Wilfork, Miami (2004)

C Alex Mack, California (2009)

DE Chandler Jones, Syracuse (2012)

TE Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame (2013)

S Ha Ha Clinton Dix, Alabama (2014)

CB Trent McDuffie, Washington (2022)

WR Quentin Johnston, TCU (2023)

DE Chop Robinson, Penn State (2024)

This draft should be a special one for Steelers fans, as Pittsburgh is playing host. What do you want to see the Steelers do with the 21st pick? Let us know in the comments!

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