Entering the 2025 NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers had just two quarterbacks on the roster after keeping Skylar Thompson around on a reserve/future deal and signing Mason Rudolph to a two-year, $7.5 million contract in free agency.
With the room lacking a clear starter, many believed that Pittsburgh would target the position early and potentially use their first-round pick (No. 21) to address their need. However, Pittsburgh ended up going through the first five rounds without taking a quarterback, which was even more shocking considering Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, was available in all of those rounds.
Why didn’t the Steelers go after the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and Second-team All-American quarterback? The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac recently explained the team’s thinking in a recent appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show.”
“Quarterback was not going to be a priority…They are all in in 2026 on moving up and trying to get what they believe to be their next franchise quarterback or certainly their starter for a number of years,” Dulac said. “And so, I think their plan all along has been geared that way. I know obviously the Steelers thought he had a nice skill set and everything, but…I never got the impression that he was high on their list to draft Rich, at any point. At any point.”
Pittsburgh ended up using their sixth-round pick (No. 185) on Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, who led the Buckeyes to a national championship and threw for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2024.
The 2026 NFL draft is expected to have some big names at quarterback, including Texas’ Arch Manning, Penn State’s Drew Allar, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, who could all go in the first round.
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While many thought that the Steelers not targeting a quarterback high in this year’s draft spelled good things for their chances of signing Aaron Rodgers, general manager Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin may have other plans if they want to put themselves in the best spot to get one of these top quarterbacks in 2026.
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