Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Or in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ case, don’t count your 2026 first-round quarterbacks before the scouting reports are even complete. While the Steelers have pointed their sails towards next year’s draft in Pittsburgh to acquire the future of their franchise at quarterback, the class continues to underwhelm compared to expectations.
“This quarterback class is a lot of hype without a lot of substance,” one talent evaluator told CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. To sum it up in one word, he said, “underwhelming.”
Team president Art Rooney II told the media that they would look to the draft either this year or next to find their next long-term quarterback. I don’t think he was referring to a sixth-round pick in Will Howard, which means they should be looking heavily in 2026 at first-round options. They even backed up that strategy with action by stockpiling 12 projected draft picks, including seven in the top 150.
Assistant GM Andy Weidl even said the 2026 class “seems to be” better than the 2025 class that produced only two first-round picks. They have clearly angled themselves to pick another first-rounder next year.
There were thought to be as many as five or six potential first-round talents available in next year’s draft. Look around college football and tell me who those are after the first five weeks of play. Good luck sourcing that list—I’ll wait.
Arch Manning has looked downright bad and will almost certainly return to college for at least one more season. Garrett Nussmeier has looked average at best and might be dealing with some injury concerns. Drew Allar proved yet again that he can’t hang when the lights are the brightest in his loss to Oregon. Cade Klubnik hardly looks draftable after receiving first-round hype.
The top names at the moment are South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, Oklahoma’s John Mateer, Oregon’s Dante Moore, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Miami’s Carson Beck, Arizona’s Sam Leavitt, and maybe even Iowa State’s Rocco Becht. Some of those names will rise, including some I haven’t listed, and others will fall. But finding more than two or three slam-dunk prospects for the first round is difficult.
That’s a problem for the Steelers, who look destined for a playoff berth in the weak AFC North. They have the draft capital to move up, but there are plenty of other teams with worse records who will be looking for a quarterback. Moving up from the 20s to the top seven or eight picks is no cheap task.
