Apr 08, 2026 - 12:29
By espn.com

Steelers could add to QB room after first round in NFL draft - ESPN

PITTSBURGH — In 15 days, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will announce the Pittsburgh Steelers' first-round selection in the 2026 NFL draft in front of what promises to be a raucous crowd of football fans on the city's North Shore.

A year ago, it was realistic to envision this moment being a seismic one in franchise history. The quarterback class was supposed to be overflowing with first-round talent, and the Steelers appeared positioned to draft their next franchise signal-caller after a one-year Aaron Rodgers stint in front of a hometown crowd. It could've been a Yinzer fairy tale.

But a lot happened in a year.

The once-robust quarterback class instead thinned out with some of the most intriguing candidates — Texas' Arch Manning, Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss, Oregon's Dante Moore and South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers — opting to return to college for at least one more season. That leaves the 2026 class with just one bona fide first-rounder in Indiana's Fernando Mendoza and a potential first-round pick in Alabama's Ty Simpson.

And Rodgers, whose performance during the 2025 season ranged from serviceable to vintage, seems poised to return for another year as the Steelers continue their search for a long-term answer at the position.

«We all agree that we're looking for that next franchise guy,» Steelers general manager Omar Khan said in February from the NFL combine. «We're not there yet, and we may have the guy in the roster; we don't know. We're excited to work with Will [Howard]. But we know that it has to be addressed, and we're all looking for the same thing.