C+
Pittsburgh Steelers
Nobody dealt better than the Steelers this weekend: C+.
by aechean ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 3 steals
· 8 reaches
Some picks age like wine; Patrick Payton at the Round 4 slot will need to, sitting 121 spots clear of his grade. The final tally is a middling C+.
Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. With tight end unsolved, spending premium capital on offensive lineman is the choice that costs them.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is Pregnon. The tight end hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
Hit on Emmanuel Pregnon and the swing picks, and this ages a lot better than it grades today.
Pick-by-Pick
Emmanuel Pregnon at pick No. 53 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A tidy little value on A.J. Haulcy in Round 2, Pick 23, a step better than break-even. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Malachi Fields in pick 76 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It fills a real need, too.
Dontay Corleone slid further than he should have, and slot 77 is lovely value for the interior defensive lineman. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Nicholas Singleton at the 85th pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Drew Allar in the Round 3 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Bud Clark at the 99th overall pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They jumped the gun on Harold Perkins Jr., taking him earlier than his grade liked. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on CJ Daniels in No. 121, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A big swing on Patrick Payton at Round 4, Pick 23, well ahead of any board in the building. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A want over a need in pick No. 135: Parker Brailsford adds an offensive lineman while tight end keeps waiting.
A reach for Domani Jackson in slot 161; a little patience would have been rewarded. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Isaiah Nwokobia in the 216th pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Barion Brown at pick 224 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A need, and now a little less of one.
Lander Barton in slot 230 lands just on the right side of the ledger. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Value with a capital V on Xavier Nwankpa in the 237th pick, a genuine coup. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.