The Pittsburgh Steelers are set up for the maximum four compensatory picks a team can receive in the 2026 NFL Draft. Per OverTheCap’s Nick Korte, the Steelers are currently in line to receive the top third-round compensatory pick for OT Dan Moore Jr., a fourth-round pick for QB Justin Fields, a fifth-round pick for QB Russell Wilson and a sixth-round pick for OG James Daniels. While the acquisitions of QB Mason Rudolph and LB Malik Harrison qualified as compensatory free agents, they negated the losses of Donte Jackson and Najee Harris, and with the Steelers only able to receive four picks anyway, it became a wash.
According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, GM Omar Khan “acknowledged” at the 2025 NFL owners meetings that the opportunity to gain compensatory picks influenced some of Pittsburgh’s offseason decisions.
“GM Omar Khan acknowledged the compensatory picks the Steelers will receive for losing a host of free agents is something that has influenced the team’s decisions during the offseason,” Dulac tweeted.
The Steelers haven’t lost enough in free agency in recent years to gain compensatory picks, including the 2025 draft. But with a lot of roster turnover this offseason, Pittsburgh was in line to gain picks, provided it didn’t sign free agents at a high enough level to cancel them out. For example, had the Steelers signed Milton Williams to the same contract he received, it would’ve wiped out the third-round pick they are slated to receive for losing Moore.
That could’ve played a part in the Steelers not looking at the top of the market at a few positions. Players who are released from their former team, like CB Darius Slay, don’t factor into the compensatory-picks formula, but if the Steelers had signed D.J. Reed or Carlton Davis, it would’ve canceled out a potential fourth-round compensatory selection.
The compensatory picks the Steelers could receive in 2026 help give them an arsenal and plenty of draft capital to potentially move up in the draft. With the 2026 NFL Draft also taking place in Pittsburgh, the Steelers will have a number of selections they can make in front of their home fans. After the DK Metcalf trade, the Steelers only have six picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, and that makes their increased capital even more valuable for next year.
It’s understandable that the potential for comp picks influenced some of Pittsburgh’s strategy this offseason, and outside of Fields, the compensatory free agents they lost were all expected to move on due to the way the Steelers were constructing their roster. Omar Khan’s statement speaks more to the fact that the Steelers potentially didn’t want to lose some of their picks by signing a higher-caliber free agent, and while it’s led the team’s defensive line room to look rather thin right now, it’s a strong draft class to upgrade that position.
