Welcome to the 2026 NFL Draft. An event made all the more special by Pittsburgh having the honor of playing host city. What should truly be an awesome three-day event, and a busy one for the Steelers. With a new head coach and 12 selections, Pittsburgh can truly change its roster in a hurry.
Below is our annual packet, which puts all of our work from the past three months in one place. Everything you need to know to get ready for the draft can be found below. Pro Day tracking, pre-draft visits, player studies, big boards, and individual scouting reports. Hopefully, you feel as informed and prepared as anyone for the weekend. We’ll be recapping everything that happens during the weekend and in the weeks to follow.
Thanks to our great crew for their hard work, and thank you for reading.
Enjoy the draft.
Mike McCarthy/Omar Khan Pro Day Visits: Just one this year, easily a low of any recent memory that wasn’t impacted by COVID. McCarthy told reporters he planned to attend six, but scheduling conflicts prevented him from going to the other five. Bob Harlan’s Celebration of Life seemed to be the reason why he didn’t attend LSU’s workout. McCarthy and Khan were reportedly credentialed for Ohio State but did not show up.
This list also excludes Pittsburgh, which they attended, but given that they share a facility, it isn’t notable.
Georgia (McCarthy and Khan)
Known Pro Day Dinners: Given McCarthy and Khan’s inactivity, just one this year, though we assume he wasn’t the only player the team dined with.
WR Zachariah Branch – Georgia
Pro Day Tracker: Keeping tabs on where Pittsburgh Steelers scouts, coaches, and personnel traveled to on the Pro Day trail. Like the head coach and general manager, there were far fewer positional coaches this year compared to seasons past. Perhaps due to the transition to a new coaching staff. Here are the ones we spotted:
QBs Coach Tom Arth – North Dakota State
Asst OL Coach Jahri Evans – Texas AM
Secondary Coach Jason Simmons – Tennessee
Outside Linebackers Coach C.J. Ah You – Michigan
In total, we have specific representation noted for 48 different schools.
Pre-Draft Visit Tracker: We know all 30 names who came in for a visit, plus three local prospects who did not count against the allotted 30. Of the non-local visitors, here’s the position breakdown (this counts Treydan Stukes as a safety, not a cornerback):
6 WR
4 QB
4 CB
3 OT
3 OG
3 ILB
3 SAF
2 DL
2 TE
Wide receiver, quarterback, and cornerback lead the list, but it’s more balanced than in past years.
Combine Meeting Tracker: We confirmed 29 of the possible 45 formal interviews the team had. Wide receiver dominated our list with 14, followed by five cornerbacks. The list also includes more than a dozen informals.
Mock Drafts (Steelers Depot):
Dave Bryan: Vega Ioane/OG Penn State
Ross McCorkle: Spencer Fano/OL Utah
Josh Carney: Vega Ioane/OG Penn State
Alex Kozora: Omar Cooper Jr./WR Indiana
Joe Clark: Vega Ioane/OG Penn State
Ryan Paglia: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren/S Toledo
Depot Crew: Various Players (Vega Ioane 3, Spencer Fano 1, Denzel Boston 1, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren 1, Omar Cooper Jr. 1)
Mock Drafts (National Media)
Peter Schrager/ESPN: Monroe Freeling/OT Georgia
Todd McShay/The Ringer: Max Iheanachor/OT Arizona State
Mel Kiper Jr./ESPN: Vega Ioane/OG Penn State
Bucky Brooks/NFL.com: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren/S Toledo
Lance Zierlein/NFL.com: Keldrick Faulk/EDGE Auburn
Mike Florio/Pro Football Talk: Max Iheanachor/OT Arizona State
Chad Reuter/NFL.com: Vega Ioane/OG Penn State
Daniel Jeremiah/NFL.com: Blake Miller/OT Clemson
Devin Jackson Big Board: Devin’s final list of his Top 200 prospects with heights/weights, 40 times, and blurbs for each player. A tremendous amount of work worth checking out.
Steelers Depot Graded Big Board: We’ll have the table below, but this is a chart of all 340 scouting reports we’ve written since January. It’s sortable by position and grade on our new and updated grading scale, with a “power statement” summary for each prospect so you know the main headline as you look through. The best place to quickly learn about a prospect. Linked to each name is the player’s entire profile.
Steelers ‘Look For’ Studies: I only published one this year. A new coaching staff and a new way of doing things could change the model, but receiver felt it was important enough to update. Find out who made the list – and who just missed.
Clayton’s Interest Studies:
We condensed and combined them this year to make it easier to find information, putting tackles and interior linemen in the same article. Ditto with cornerbacks and safeties. These are always great summaries for a quick understanding of which prospects Pittsburgh showed the most interest in and which tested the best.
Mock Draft Contest: Enter to have the chance to win up to $250. All you have to do is submit a list of 50 prospects you think have the best chance to become Pittsburgh’s picks. Be sure to read all the rules and follow each one to remain eligible to win it all. Good luck.
Scouting Reports: A table of our 340 prospects that we attach at the end of every one of our draft day packets. Again, you can scroll up to click the Big Board link that is more sortable, but I wanted to share our reports here, too. You can use Ctrl + F if you want to find a specific name below.
