This offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost a handful of key contributors. Their leading passer, rusher, and receiver from 2024 are all gone. However, there is some upside to that. Because they lost so many players to free agency, the Steelers are set to receive several compensatory picks in the 2026 draft. They also recently got a 2026 third-round pick in return for George Pickens. According to Omar Khan, stacking draft picks for next year is important to the team.
“It was important for us to acknowledge the fact that we could be in a position to acquire comp picks next year,” Khan said Friday during a press conference via 93.7 The Fan. “You guys saw how we did things in the offseason.
“That’s obviously something that was [in] the back of our minds when we made decisions. We’ll see how it all shakes out. The next phase of this is how much these guys play to determine where those comps end up. But that’s something we were obviously cognizant of.”
That desire has been noticeable this offseason. While the Steelers lost players like Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Dan Moore Jr., and Najee Harris, they didn’t add many outside free agents. Darius Slay was the biggest one they signed, and he’s only on a one-year $10 million deal and doesn’t factor into the compensatory pick formula.
The Steelers’ biggest acquisition this offseason came in the form of DK Metcalf, and that was via trade. The Steelers didn’t need to sacrifice any 2026 draft capital to get Metcalf and then sign him to a long-term deal. That might help explain why there were so willing to do that deal, when it doesn’t seem like something they’d normally do.
That could help also explain why the Steelers dealt George Pickens. It seemed very unlikely that they’d give him a contract extension, so his time in Pittsburgh was limited. However, if he left in free agency next year, the Steelers would likely have received a decent 2027 compensatory pick in return. Therefore, they might’ve felt more comfortable getting that pick in the 2026 draft.
The Steelers are loaded with draft capital next year. They’re slated to have a compensatory pick in Rounds 3, 4, 5, and 6, and they now have another third-round pick thanks to the Pickens trade. Add all of their own picks, and the Steelers are sitting on quite the haul.
The reason for Pittsburgh acquiring all this draft capital remains to be seen though seems likely that the team could be preparing to make a push to trade up for a quarterback in Round 1. In this year’s draft, they passed on taking a signal caller early. The Steelers lack a long-term option under center so that was surprising.
However, the 2025 quarterback class also didn’t look very strong. That’s not supposed to be the case in 2026. The Steelers have been searching for their next franchise quarterback, and their surplus of draft picks next year could help them find him.
