{"id":590943,"date":"2026-04-18T03:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T03:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/590943\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T03:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T03:00:08","slug":"rooney-confirms-steelers-wont-draft-first-round-quarterback-probably-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/590943\/","title":{"rendered":"Rooney Confirms Steelers Won’t Draft First-Round Quarterback: ‘Probably Not’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Steelers won\u2019t celebrate hosting the 2026 NFL Draft by christening it with a new first-round franchise quarterback. Speaking to WTAE\u2019s Andrew Stockey<\/a> in a pre-draft interview Friday, owner Art Rooney II all but confirmed the Steelers won\u2019t use their 21st overall pick on a quarterback.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I can tell you one thing, it\u2019s probably not going to be a quarterback,\u201d Rooney told Stockey. \u201cBut beyond that it\u2019s wide open.\u201d<\/p>\n

Select draft analysts whispered<\/a> about the Steelers\u2019 secret like of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. But the team showed no overt signs in having interest in him. Neither Mike McCarthy nor Omar Khan attended Simpson\u2019s pro day workout. Despite bringing in four passers for pre-draft visits, Simpson wasn\u2019t among the group.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh has described wanting an \u201cAFC North\u201d quarterback. One with size and experience in the elements. Simpson, at about 6-1 and 211 pounds and who played down south, doesn\u2019t fit that bill.<\/p>\n

Indiana\u2019s Fernando Mendoza and Simpson are the top two quarterbacks in the draft. From there, the field is wide open without any clarity on what round the third quarterback will be selected.<\/p>\n

The Steelers could draft a quarterback in the later rounds. Penn State\u2019s Drew Allar, Miami (FL)\u2019s Carson Beck, Arkansas\u2019 Taylen Green, and North Dakota State\u2019s Cole Payton came in for visits. Of that group, Allar might be the favorite.<\/p>\n

Aaron Rodgers has yet to offer Pittsburgh official word on his 2026 plans, but indications are he will return. The team remains high on 2025 sixth-round selection Will Howard. Despite failing to take a single snap inside a stadium all of last season, head coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio have spoken<\/a> glowingly of Howard\u2019s makeup and approach to the position.<\/p>\n

Rooney didn\u2019t tip his hand to what position the Steelers could address in the first round. Wide receiver, offensive line, and secondary could all be in play. It will depend on how the board breaks in front of them Thursday night. Still, Rooney offered a key piece of information of what Pittsburgh won\u2019t\u00a0do Thursday night. But if the Steelers\u2019 quarterback woes aren\u2019t\u2019 solved this time next year, it\u2019s doubtful Rooney will be able to rule out the position come 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pittsburgh Steelers won\u2019t celebrate hosting the 2026 NFL Draft by christening it with a new first-round franchise…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[257986,191205,349,1321,99,3795,79383],"class_list":["post-590943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-andrew-stockey","tag-art-rooney-ii","tag-nfl","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-sports","tag-trending","tag-ty-simpson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}