2026 NFL Draft•Steelers News
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Omar Khan speak at a press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex before the NFL Draft on Sunday, April 19, 2026 in Pittsburgh, PA. (Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers)
Through the first three years of the tenure of Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan, his draft classes have generally been well regarded in terms of the perceived value of the players selected.
At the time, the players that the Steelers landed were generally ones that were considered around the league to be ones that would have already been off the board when the Steelers picked.
But that all went out the window this weekend at the 2026 NFL Draft, when the Steelers were one of the teams that reached according to the industry consensus the most.
Let’s start with Khan’s history, where he had three drafts in a row that were well-regarded from a value standpoint.
PlayerCBBPickValueBroderick Jones1514-10Joey Porter Jr.1832103Keeanu Benton6049-30Darnell Washington4093107Nick Herbig10113216Cory Trice11324126Spencer Anderson332251-12023 NFL Draft211
In the 2023 NFL Draft, the Steelers made seven selections, with four of them being value picks compared to the NFL Mock Draft Database Consensus Big Board. By comparing the value of the picks the Steelers made, and the consensus value of the players taken, and inputting those slots in the Rich Hill Draft Trade Value Chart, throughout the course of the draft, the Steelers added 211 additional value points — a late first-round pick’s worth of additional draft capital.
PlayerCBBPickValueTroy Fautanu182018Zach Frazier385145Roman Wilson568447Payton Wilson459894Mason McCormick1051197Logan Lee218178-4Ryan Watts221195-22024 NFL Draft205
In 2024, it was more of the same. Five of the seven picks were considered plus consensus value — the first five — and both Roman and Payton Wilson were taken a whole round after consensus on day two. The Steelers added a total of 205 points compared to their consensus value, again adding a late first-round pick.
PlayerCBBPickValueDerrick Harmon2721-45Kaleb Johnson568347Jack Sawyer6712352Yahya Black2091645Will Howard10218527Carson Bruener266226-1Donte Kent437229-12025 NFL Draft84
Last season, the difference was less pronounced, but the Steelers were still on the plus side of the ledger, with Kaleb Johnson, Jack Sawyer and Will Howard all being drafted well behind where they were projected. Over the course of that draft, the Steelers added 84 points of expected draft capital — a mid third-round pick.
Not only did the Steelers happen to get good value in those draft classes, it seemed to be a core part of Khan’s draft strategy and a major difference between him and his predecessor Kevin Colbert, with Khan frequently moving around the draft board in attempts to maximize the value of their selections in a way the Steelers hadn’t done previously. That seemed like the hallmark of an Omar Khan Steelers draft class.
That brings us to this year, where the stakes were even higher. The Steelers had 12 picks, entering the draft with the seventh-most accumulated value, despite a first-round pick down at No. 21.
Instead of navigating the board to find value like Khan had in the past, the Steelers repeatedly over-drafted players, with seven of their 10 selections being taken ahead of their consensus value. Over the course of the draft, the Steelers lost the equivalent of a late second-round pick’s worth of value.
PlayerCBBPickValueMax Iheanachor2821-52Germie Bernard5647-26Drew Allar10676-29Daylen Everette10185-16Gennings Dunker629645Kaden Wetjen239121-22Riley Nowakowski223169-6Gabriel Rubio510210-4Robert Spears-Jennings2042242Eli Heidenreich19623022026 NFL Draft-106
Compared to their draft capital entering, unlike what they did from 2023-25, the Steelers were among the worst of any team in the league in terms of maximizing their value.
best value 2026 NFL draft classes
1. Commanders
2. Panthers
3. Colts
4. Bengals
5. Jets
6. Giants
7. Buccaneers
8. Raiders
9. Falcons
10. Chiefs
see pic for 1-32 plus methodology
READ FULL ANALYSIS:https://t.co/RaVIrqOuUj
team-by-team & round-by-round analysis to follow 🧵 pic.twitter.com/P9BAQwNGHW
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 25, 2026
I can already hear some of the comments. But Alan, that consensus board is just what the media thinks is going to happen. Don’t you think NFL evaluators know better?
The short answer is no.
According to a study by Timo Riske at PFF, from 2014-19, the actual NFL Draft barely does better than just taking the next player on the consensus big board by rote — and there’s actually a portion of day two where the consensus board does better.
This despite the consensus board giving zero consideration to team fit, scheme needs, and not having access to the same level of detailed medical information or personality evaluations that the league has. What that generally means is that most of the teams that vary greatly from the consensus, end up regretting it.
That doesn’t mean that the players the Steelers picked over the last three days are destined to turn out to be bad players. What it does mean is that the Steelers left a lot of value on the table by selecting those players when they did, and what could have ended up as one of the league’s most valuable draft classes now seems less likely to turn out that way.
