The Draft Came to Pittsburgh, and the Steelers Finally Took a Quarterback

SWN Analysis · August 29, 2026

The 2026 NFL Draft was held in Pittsburgh — the first time the event had come to the city since 1948 — with the stage set around Point State Park and Acrisure Stadium.

The Steelers used the home-field weekend to do something they’ve been circling for years: take a quarterback, and take a lot of swings.

Max Iheanachor, OT — No. 21, Arizona State

The player. Pittsburgh’s first-round pick came in a round defined by protecting the quarterback. Nine offensive linemen went in the first 32 selections — seven tackles and two interior linemen — starting with Utah’s Spencer Fano to Cleveland at No. 9 and ending with his college teammate Caleb Lomu to New England at 28.

Iheanachor landed in the middle of that run at 21.

The situation. For a franchise whose identity has always run through the offensive line, a first-round tackle is the least surprising and most defensible use of the pick.

Playing time projection. Starter or high-rotation from Week 1.

Germie Bernard, WR — No. 47, Alabama

The story. The Steelers wanted a receiver in the first round and watched Philadelphia trade up with Dallas to take USC’s Makai Lemon at No. 20. Lemon reportedly learned about it while on the phone with Pittsburgh.

So the Steelers went and got one anyway, trading with Indianapolis to move up from No. 53 to No. 47 for Bernard.

Playing time projection. Rotational receiver immediately, with real snaps available depending on how the depth chart settles.

Drew Allar, QB — No. 76, Penn State

The pick that will define this class in three years.

Allar was a preseason big-board fixture who returned to Penn State rather than entering the 2025 draft. Two more quarterbacks went on Day 2 — Carson Beck to Arizona at No. 65 and Allar to Pittsburgh at 76 — after none were taken in the first eight picks of the entire draft.

The read. A third-round quarterback isn’t a starter-in-waiting so much as a bet with limited downside. If Allar develops, Pittsburgh solved its most persistent problem for the cost of a third-rounder. If he doesn’t, nothing was lost.

Playing time projection. Developmental. Watch the preseason reps.

The rest of a deep class

Pittsburgh drafted ten players, which is how a team builds depth without cap space.

Daylen Everette, CB — No. 85, Georgia and Gennings Dunker, G — No. 96, Iowa are the Day 2 additions most likely to contribute. Kaden Wetjen, WR — No. 121, Iowa, Riley Nowakowski, TE — No. 169, Indiana, Gabe Rubio, DE — No. 210, Notre Dame, Robert Spears-Jennings, S — No. 224, Oklahoma and Eli Heidenreich, RB — No. 230, Navy fill out the group.

Three from the wider class

Fernando Mendoza, QB — Las Vegas Raiders (No. 1). The quarterback Pittsburgh never had a shot at, and the strangest arc in the class: unknown in August 2025, Heisman winner and national champion at Indiana by January, first overall pick by April — the first Hoosier taken in the first round since 1994. He opened camp behind Kirk Cousins.

Makai Lemon, WR — Philadelphia Eagles (No. 20). The one that got away, taken six picks before Pittsburgh’s slot after the Eagles traded up with Dallas. Worth tracking purely as a counterfactual: Bernard at 47 versus Lemon at 20 is the comparison Steelers fans will make for years.

Caleb Downs, S — Dallas Cowboys (No. 11). One of four Ohio State players taken in the top 11, alongside Carnell Tate (No. 4, Tennessee), Arvell Reese (No. 5, Giants) and Sonny Styles (No. 7, Commanders). Downs left college as arguably the best defensive back in the sport, and Dallas traded up a spot to get him.

The pick that matters in three years

Allar, and nothing else, in the long run. Pittsburgh drafted a tackle who should start, a receiver who should contribute and eight other players who’ll be judged on depth — all of which is normal.

The quarterback is the pick that matters. Third-rounders don’t usually become franchise passers. They occasionally do, and the Steelers have been waiting long enough to take the shot.

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