Like every other NFL team, the Pittsburgh Steelers are deep in their pre-draft process. But it’s one that looks very different this time around. Former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who was very involved in the process, is no longer in town. He’s been replaced by Mike McCarthy, who hasn’t had nearly the presence that Tomlin regularly did leading up to drafts.

“Didn’t get to as many of the Pro Days as we had scheduled. We were originally scheduled to go to six of them. Just ’cause of a bunch of other things moving around, we just made the one down there in Georgia,” McCarthy said Monday on The Pat McAfee Show,

Mike McCarthy said on McAfee the plan was six pro days this year for him but various things happening resulted in him going to just the Georgia one. #Steelers #NFL

— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) March 30, 2026

McCarthy didn’t attend Pro Days very frequently in Dallas either, so it’s a continuation of a trend for him.

Despite not attending as many pro days as he had hoped, McCarthy said that he’s been very involved in the pre-draft process.

“I was able to sit in with the scouts before we went to the Combine. You know, we took a lap through most of the positions,” McCarthy said. “We’re very, very involved. And when we get back, we have our draft meetings, our final draft meetings with the coaches that we’ll go through. We’ve been working hand in hand.”

For what it’s worth, McCarthy has seemed to mostly keep up with draft cycles throughout the years. Shortly after he was hired by the Steelers, McAfee himself described McCarthy as being “more prepared than anybody else” for the 2025 draft despite not coaching in the NFL that season. If he’s meeting with the scouts enough and watching enough film on his own that may make his pro day absences less significant.

Steelers fans would probably have liked to see him at more pro days, but that hasn’t been the case this year. However, with 12 picks, there is plenty of work still ahead before the draft in late-April. According to Mike McCarthy, he’ll remain busy with the pre-draft process until then. With just less than a month until the draft comes to Pittsburgh, there’s plenty of work left to do.