C
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers landed square in the muddy middle: C.
by Jaybeast17 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 5 steals
· 7 reaches
The move everyone will second-guess came early. The Steelers reached some 302 spots for Tyler Van Dyke, and value like that does not grow back. The good and the questionable cancel out to a C.
However the rest shakes out, Mendoza at that price is a win they earned. Leaving interior defensive lineman unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. They went 8 of 9 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
A perfectly average weekend, for better and for worse.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 21 they get an anchor for the offensive line, a steep price for the projection.
Chris Bell is a better player than the Round 2 slot suggests; smart patience, rewarded. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A wild overpay on Tyler Van Dyke in pick 76, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board fumbled Fernando Mendoza all the way to slot 85, and they scooped it up. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Taking Jacob Rodriguez in the 99th pick is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Nicholas Singleton in Round 4, Pick 21 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jacobe Johnson at pick 135 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The roster fit checks out.
Keaten Wade in Round 5, Pick 21 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A real head-scratcher, Jalen Catalon in No. 216 is miles ahead of his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Nate Boerkircher in the Round 7 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Robert Henry Jr. at pick No. 230 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A conviction pick on Diego Pavia at slot 237 that the board grades a round light. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.