CBS Sports\u2019 Josh Edwards<\/a> gave the pick a C grade as well.<\/p>\n\u201cWetjen\u2019s selection is a perfect opportunity to remind everyone that this stage of the draft is used to address multiple objectives,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Round 5: Pick 169 \u2013 FB Riley Nowakowski\/Indiana<\/p>\n
Nowakowski was a versatile TE\/FB at Indiana, but Pittsburgh sent out its RB coach to talk to the media after the pick. They view him as a fullback, though he will be used in a variety of ways as most fullbacks are these days. Think of him like Connor Heyward, though he has slightly more upside than the recently departed former Steeler.<\/p>\n
His selection drew a big reaction from Sikkema and Rogers on Bleacher Report\u2019s stream. Each gave the selection B+ grades.<\/p>\n
\u201cNice! Fullbacks, baby,\u201d Sikkema said. \u201cI love the versatility he brings to the table. Now you have a true Swiss-army knife-type of player that could play in the backfield for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mike McCarthy discussed the evolution of offenses recently, and he\u2019s always prioritized a fullback throughout the years with Hunter Luepke in Dallas and John Kuhn in Green Bay.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved what this guy did in Indiana\u2019s offense,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cFernando Mendoza looked his way in some really, really big moments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nowakowski can take handoffs, catch passes out of the backfield, and block anywhere on the field. That\u2019s a win for the offense overall.<\/p>\n
Edwards gave the pick a B grade on CBS Sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cNowakowski is the unheralded piece of Indiana\u2019s championship offense,\u201d he wrote. \u201cHe could be this year\u2019s Jackson Hawes in that he brings a lot of value to the run game as a blocker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Round 6: Pick 210 \u2013 DL Gabriel Rubio\/Notre Dame<\/p>\n
This pick caught everybody off guard. Rubio was a little-known prospect who didn\u2019t get a Combine invite and spent part of the 2025 season dealing with a bad elbow injury. But he\u2019s exactly the type of defensive lineman the Steelers are always looking with the size and length they like to develop.<\/p>\n
The Steelers obviously like the prospect, but the value was unusual.<\/p>\n
Sikkema and Rogers were like all of us when this pick came in. So confused, they didn\u2019t even offer a grade.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not scout this play[er]. A of an off-the-wall pick, and the Steelers don\u2019t make too many of those,\u201d they wrote. \u201cThis is another guy to get on that defensive line, so I don\u2019t mind it.\u201d<\/p>\n
His dad was drafted by the Steelers in 1998, so perhaps they had a better window into him as a player than any other scouts would have.<\/p>\n
Edwards gave the pick a C+ grade.<\/p>\n
\u201cRubio is a big body who is just going to occupy space in that Pittsburgh defense. He does not have any pass rush production but fills a role for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
For what it\u2019s worth, a Notre Dame beat writer said Rubio always looked like an NFL-caliber run stopper when healthy but that the injury hampered him in 2025.<\/p>\n
Round 7: Pick 224 \u2013 S Robert Spears-Jennings\/Oklahoma<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh looked at a lot of inside linebackers and safeties in the draft but waited all the way to the seventh round to address at least one of those positions. Spears-Jennings presented great value, and the Steelers were surprised he was still on the board. He has good measurables, and he ran a blazing-fast 4.32-second 40-yard dash.<\/p>\n
He can develop into a contributor on defense, but he will immediately be able to help out on special teams.<\/p>\n
Sikkema gave the pick an A grade while Rogers gave it an A-.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like this a lot,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cI think Spears-Jennings has kind of become an underappreciated player in this safety class. He is somebody to me that has pretty serious athleticism\u2026He hits with a purpose. I had a fourth-round grade on him.\u201d<\/p>\n
In terms of pure value, Spears-Jennings may be the Steelers\u2019 top pick of the draft. That\u2019s exactly the type of pick you should be hunting for in the seventh round.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a player that I had as a fringe top-100 player for a long time,\u201d Sikkema said. \u201cIf he would have come out in last year\u2019s draft, I think I had him at 95th overall.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can never have too many athletic safeties who can run and hit.<\/p>\n
Edwards gave the pick a B+ grade via CBS Sports saying many of the same things as Sikkema and Rogers.<\/p>\n
Round 7: Pick 230 \u2013 RB Eli Heidenreich\/Navy<\/p>\n
Heidenreich became perhaps the biggest story of Day 3. He walked the stage<\/a> after his hometown Steelers selected him with their final pick. He is a do-it-all versatile running back with plus athleticism who can win through the air just as well as he can on the ground. Mike McCarthy was already hinting at opening up the playbook for his skill set.<\/p>\nSikkema and Rogers forgot to give out grades on the steam for this pick, but they clearly liked it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ended up pretty high on him,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cFor me, he ended up as RB10. I loved his receiving skills. This is a strong pick by the Steelers, and a strong draft by the Steelers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh has its running backs in place but could find creative ways to use Heidenreich if he makes the 53-man roster. Sikkema thinks his best role is as a slot receiver.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need a lot of receiving production because no team threw to RBs more than the Steelers in 2025,\u201d he said. \u201cAaron Rodgers is gonna love this guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edwards gave the pick a B+ grade via CBS Sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not get hung up on the position listed next to Heidenreich\u2019s name. He will run the ball. He will run routes and catch passes. Whatever the team needs, the Navy Midshipman will provide. It would not be a surprise if he became a special teams ace as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first two days of the 2026 NFL Draft steal all the headlines, but the third day is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[9749,26604,263818,263819,263820,263821,78256,263822,263823,14357,99,263824],"class_list":{"0":"post-607029","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-bleacher-report","9":"tag-cbs-sports","10":"tag-connor-rogers","11":"tag-emory-hunt","12":"tag-gabriel-rubio","13":"tag-josh-edwards","14":"tag-kaden-wetjen","15":"tag-mike-renner","16":"tag-riley-nowakowski","17":"tag-robert-spears-jennings","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-trevor-sikkema"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607029","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=607029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}