The Pittsburgh Steelers are a big topic of debate leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft, due in large part to their clear need at the quarterback position.

Pittsburgh continues to wait for a decision from 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and there is a lot of belief internally when it comes to second-year pro Will Howard. But with new head coach Mike McCarthy in the mix, and the need for a long-term franchise quarterback in the Steel City, the Steelers are consistently highlighted as a team worth monitoring at the quarterback position in the draft.

They’ve been connected to Alabama’s Ty Simpson in the first round, not to mention names like North Dakota State’s Cole Payton, Miami (FL)’s Carson Beck, and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier throughout the pre-draft process.

It’s very unlikely the Steelers draft a quarterback in the first round, and it seems somewhat unlikely they’d draft one at all. But ESPN’s Louis Riddick said Wednesday that the Steelers should, and he highlighted quarterbacks he thinks are better than Howard right now.

“They have to have some kind of plan for the long term at this position. They can’t always, every year just throw up their hands and go, ‘Hey, look, we’re kind of stuck in that purgatory type of state where…we’re not bad enough to really get a high round pick. We don’t have really enough ammunition to really move up and get the guy that we want,’” Riddick said on Get Up about the Steelers’ quarterback situation. “It doesn’t have to be in the first round that you address this position, either. Maybe we can draft a Carson Beck later on. Maybe we can draft a Garrett Nussmeier, see if we can develop him.

“See if maybe that’s a better option than Will Howard, who’s in house right now. I think both of them are so I don’t think it’s ridiculous at all.”

Time and time again this offseason, McCarthy and GM Omar Khan have had plenty of praise for Howard, whom the Steelers selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. Howard missed most of his rookie season with an injury. He didn’t take a single snap in the preseason, so there’s a lot of projection going on with the Steelers behind the scenes.

They’ve shown some interest in both Beck and Nussmeier with Beck the name they’ve been connected to the most, both from a local perspective and from a national viewpoint. He could be had with one of the Steelers’ three third-round picks and brings vast experience to the position having started more than 40 games in college at both Georgia and with the Hurricanes.

The connection with Nussmeier is there, too, as McCarthy coached with his father, Doug, during his time in Dallas. It’s hard to say how the two stack up against Howard since they are in different drafts, and McCarthy has already stated that Howard wouldn’t have lasted to the sixth round if he was coaching somewhere last year.

But right now, Riddick believes both Beck and Nussmeier are better than Howard. We could see in just over a week if the Steelers are of a similar mindset.