B-
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers won the night they stopped Golday from sliding. Grade: B-.
by kmp90 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 4 steals
· 4 reaches
The Steelers spent the weekend waiting on one name, and it fell: Jake Golday, the No. 64 name on the board, in the Round 3 slot.
The Crownover reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. That quarterback hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
It is not that Crownover is a bad player; it is that the Steelers had louder needs to answer first. Almost all the early capital went to that side of the ball.
Good work on the whole, with quarterback the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
Olaivavega Ioane at pick 21 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Germie Bernard at the Round 2 slot is a conviction pick that outran the value. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A quiet steal in No. 76: Zachariah Branch for less than the market said. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Treydan Stukes is a better player than Round 3, Pick 21 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Taking Jake Golday in slot 99 is close to grand larceny; an edge rusher that good had no business lasting this long. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A surprising call. With quarterback, interior defensive lineman and other spots still to address, they spent pick No. 121 on Dametrious Crownover, an offensive lineman they were not short of.
By-the-book stuff, Harold Perkins Jr. at the 135th overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A top-tier tight end at a bargain, Joe Royer in the 161st pick, plain and simple. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board had cheaper options than Kaden Wetjen at the 216th pick, and it noticed. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A reach for Robert Spears-Jennings in slot 224; a little patience would have been rewarded. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They took Jaren Kanak at par in the Round 7 slot, which is nothing to complain about. A need, and now a little less of one.
Nothing to complain about; Zavion Thomas went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.