With six practices including two padded sessions in the books, it\u2019s worth taking inventory of the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 rookie draft class. There\u2019s still a lot more to learn and evaluate and three preseason games will tell us a lot. By no means are my below thoughts final and etched in stone.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, here are my early thoughts on all 10 draft picks from this April\u2019s class.<\/p>\n
OT Max Iheanachor<\/p>\n
Primary Role: Second-Team Right Tackle<\/p>\n
Judging trench players is especially difficult until the pads come on. That\u2019s why some of the chatter about Iheanachor looking like an unrefined rookie during the padless sessions felt early and frankly, silly.<\/p>\n
Still, Iheanachor changed that narrative Monday. He was strong in his first padded practice. In the 1v1 OL\/DL rush drills, Iheanachor was excellent and showed all the traits that got him drafted in the first round. His size, strength, lateral agility and overall athleticism. He was also patient in his set and showed no fear facing top names in T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Jack Sawyer. It\u2019s hard to remember a rookie lineman looking that strong out of the gate.<\/p>\n
It’s always difficult to think back and compare, but Max Iheanachor’s first time through 1v1s today was one of the better showings I can remember from a rookie OL. <\/p>\n
He was impressive. Patience in his set, his athleticism, his redirect, his punch. Whew. #Steelers<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) August 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Run blocking might be more challenging. He\u2019s shown some trouble sticking and driving to create a push, losing one rep to T.J. Watt later in the day. Of course, Watt makes plays like that against any caliber of tackle, and Iheanachor learning some of those hard lessons early on will make things easier once he sees game action.<\/p>\n He\u2019s primarily worked as second-team right tackle but occasionally logged first-team snaps. Under Mike McCarthy, Pittsburgh loves mixing and matching its offensive linemen to different positions and combinations. However, I\u2019ve yet to see Iheanachor log any time at left tackle.<\/p>\n Troy Fautanu is going to start at left tackle. Write that in pen. Will Dylan Cook or Iheanachor start on the right side? It\u2019s still too early to say. Speaking to our Dallas and Green Bay friends before camp, they agreed McCarthy prefers leading with veterans and rookies need to look a \u201ctier above\u201d to win the job out of the gate. Iheanachor isn\u2019t there yet but he\u2019s making up ground on any space he entered behind Cook, who is older but doesn\u2019t even have 300 offensive snaps.<\/a> He\u2019s not a traditional \u201cvet.\u201d<\/p>\n Early Summary: Iheanachor is looking like the player Pittsburgh drafted him to be, but there\u2019s a lot more to watch. Especially once the games kickoff.<\/p>\n WR Germie Bernard<\/p>\n Primary Role: Second-Team Slot Receiver<\/p>\n Bernard\u2019s yet to have a day capturing the buzz Iheanachor created Monday. In fact, it\u2019s been a quiet start for him. Bernard\u2019s receptions have been on short and intermediate routes though in fairness, he hasn\u2019t received many downfield opportunities.<\/p>\n He\u2019s had a couple miscommunications with his quarterback, Aaron Rodgers and backups, and the occassional drop. On the first day, Rodgers wanted Bernard on a 7\/corner route and Bernard didn\u2019t run it at the right depth, leaving the pass well short and incomplete.<\/p>\n Athletically, he just looks average and hasn\u2019t wow\u2019d in any one moment. I have missed some passing sessions, I watched OL\/DL instead of 7 on 7 and 1v1 WR\/DB drills the past two days, so maybe Bernard made some plays there. In team drills, though, it\u2019s been uneventful.<\/p>\n Roman Wilson opened up clearly ahead of Bernard as the No. 3 receiver. Bernard has rotated in some since, but it\u2019s still fair to say Wilson is in the lead. Wilson\u2019s also made plenty more plays<\/a>, especially on Tuesday. Bernard has shown a bit more inside\/outside flexibility, but a strong end to the week for Bernard will serve as a good boost as he nears his preseason debut.<\/p>\n Early Summary: Bernard\u2019s yet to make many big plays, and he\u2019s clearly still working to get on the same page as his quarterbacks. A learning curve was expected, however, and progression from the start of the summer until the end is the key focus.<\/p>\n QB Drew Allar<\/p>\n Primary Role: No. 4 Quarterback<\/p>\n All eyes on Allar. Perhaps no Steelers\u2019 rookie is under the microscope more with every good \u2013 or bad \u2013 play scrutinized to unfair levels.<\/p>\n Positively, Allar\u2019s had his moments. The physical talent is undeniable. His \u201carm talent\u201d is second-best on the team only behind Aaron Rodgers, and he\u2019s clearly ahead of Will Howard in that regard. When Allar opens it up, the ball jumps out of his hand. He trusts his arm, too, and is willing to air it out. He hit 30 yard back shoulder completion to A.T. Perry on fourth down during Day Four\u2019s two-minute drill sums it up. He passed on an underneath throw for Eli Heidenreich to the sticks and gave his receiver a chance 1-on-1. It paid off.<\/p>\n Allar\u2019s best moments have been throwing vertically. Watching live makes it difficult to judge his footwork and mechanics, but you can tell he\u2019s trying to apply what he\u2019s learned. On one rep, Allar felt pressure around him and hitched-hitched-hitched up into the pocket. Allar is routinely the first quarterback on the field each day and he puts in the work.<\/p>\n Operationally, he\u2019s been pretty clean for a rookie, too. Not many pre-snap issues of botched exchanges and he\u2019s commanded the line of scrimmage. His hard count needs more oomph to sell it, but that can come with time. His interceptions have been minimal, if any, too.<\/p>\n Allar\u2019s biggest weak point is consistency, especially in the short and intermediate game. A problem he had at Penn State, his accuracy hitting receivers in stride on crossing patterns is spotty. He\u2019s missed behind and short throwing what should be \u201ceasy\u201d completions. It\u2019s hard to tell if that\u2019s a footwork, timing, or some other issue.<\/p>\n In one drill that summed things up, quarterbacks were throwing into netting with pockets as \u201ctargets\u201d during an individual period. It looks similar to this.<\/a> Will Howard went first and was pinpoint with a throw in the pocket. Allar went next and threw over the net entirely. In context, Allar hit the pockets to close out the drill and every quarterback had their share of misses, but that sorta sums the two up.<\/p>\n Who has been better between Howard and Allar? The first couple of practices, I\u2019d give the edge to Allar. The last few, it\u2019s been closer to even. Allar has the fastball. Howard throws a great changeup.<\/p>\n But I\u2019m not trying to declare day-by-day winners and like every rookie, the progress from the start point (first day of camp) to the end point (final practice before cutdowns) is what matters.<\/p>\n Early Summary: Allar\u2019s been great at hitting Steph Curry-range three pointers, but needs to iron out and make the layups to begin making real progress beyond his draft profile.<\/p>\n CB Daylen Everette<\/p>\n Primary Role: Second-Team Left\/Right Corner<\/p>\n Pittsburgh\u2019s first defensive pick and the only one taken in the Top 150, Everette has split time on the left and right side. He\u2019s played both outside spots without a clear majority on either side.<\/p>\n Everette is competitive on the football. He hasn\u2019t backed down and has been in the hip pocket of receivers. He\u2019s just had trouble finishing the play. DK Metcalf Moss\u2019d him for one early camp touchdown, though McCarthy defended Everette\u2019s positioning on the play. He\u2019s also the corner who gave up the fourth down completion to Perry I noted above with Allar, too.<\/p>\n Like a lot of young corners, Everette is finding the balance between playing aggressive and playing reckless, picking up a couple of penalties on end zone fades. Coverage busts have also popped up, once leaving Joaquin Davis wide open for a pitch-and-catch on Day Two. Veteran Brandin Echols talked to him about the bust after the play.<\/p>\n He\u2019s shown a short memory. On Monday, Everette was flagged for pass interference against Perry. Two plays later, he batted away a final-play pass for WR Brandon Smith to prevent the touchdown and end practice. Run defense has been hard to evaluate, but Everette seems willing.<\/p>\n On special teams, Everette has logged plenty of reps at gunner. He may not start there Week One, WR Ben Skowronek and CB Brandin Echols are the current leaders, but Everette figures to get plenty of burn this preseason and be a potential next-man-up if injuries impact that position.<\/p>\n Early Summary: Everette is competitive and plays hard, but he\u2019s taken his lumps on vertical throws against big-body wideouts.<\/p>\n OG Gennings Dunker<\/p>\n Primary Role: Third-Team Right Guard<\/p>\n Dunker has largely run with the third-team throughout training camp with limited mixing and matching, a contrast to most others. Pittsburgh may be wanting to keep the rookies put and get into a groove. Dunker bumped up to second-team right guard<\/a> for the back half of Tuesday\u2019s practice, though it could be because Steven Jones got hurt. I\u2019ll need to check that when the team returns Thursday.<\/p>\n The padless practices made evaluations meaningless. I watched the starters for the bulk of Monday\u2019s session but got eyes on Dunker Tuesday. He looked good in 1v1 with good play strength to handle bull rushes and sitting in his stance without much forward body lean. There\u2019s enough athleticism to slide and mirror, too.<\/p>\n He\u2019s a big guy with his stomach peeking out from underneath his jersey. My evaluation on him still feels a little incomplete, but it\u2019s fair to say he\u2019s nowhere close to competing for a starting right guard spot. Spencer Anderson remains the leader with Brock Hoffman challenging. Dunker is shaping up as a Week One inactive, but his own play in exhibition action plus injuries can always change that.<\/p>\n Early Summary: Dunker\u2019s focus is on adjusting to playing guard, not winning the starting job.<\/p>\n WR\/RET Kaden Wetjen<\/p>\n Primary Role: Kick\/Punt Returner<\/p>\n At a listed 5093, 193 pounds,<\/a> no one expected Wetjen to look like DK Metcalf. Still, getting eyes on Wetjen reminds you how small he is. He\u2019s legitimately the tiniest guy on the field and just standing on the sidelines, he looks out of place. Still, appearances can be deceiving. That\u2019s just the eye test.<\/p>\n Wetjen was drafted to be Pittsburgh\u2019s returner, and he\u2019s worked as a punt and kick returner during every special teams period the team has repped it. So far, the emphasis has been on punts with kickoffs only being introduced in camp yesterday. These periods aren\u2019t full plays. On punts, it\u2019s fielding and first steps. On kicks, they\u2019re just working on setting up the blocking scheme. Wetjen\u2019s caught the ball cleanly, but there\u2019s no useful evaluation to make beyond that.<\/p>\n At receiver, Wetjen\u2019s had a hard time finding reps and even more difficulty seeing the ball. Pittsburgh\u2019s gotten him involved in other ways like a jet run during Tuesday\u2019s session for a couple of yards. It\u2019s hard to think Pittsburgh will design much for him once the regular season begins, especially since Roman Wilson has a similar (but bigger) body type and plenty of speed with a more prominent role on the depth chart.<\/p>\n Preseason action will be most telling and interesting for Wetjen. He should receive plenty of opportunities and start on kicks and punts (likely with Eli Heidenreich next to him on kicks). In camp, it\u2019s been pretty uneventful.<\/p>\n Early Summary: A quiet start for Wetjen but one expected given the structure of practices; Pittsburgh clearly plans on using him on kick and punt returns.<\/p>\n TE\/FB Riley Nowakowski<\/p>\n Primary Role: Versatile H-Back<\/p>\n