B
Pittsburgh Steelers
Larceny in the Round 4 slot lands the Steelers a B, Branch and all.
by Jdj029 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 9 steals
· 2 reaches
Thirty-one other rooms let Zachariah Branch slide, and the Steelers were the ones holding the card at pick No. 121. Highway robbery. It nets out to a B, which feels about right.
Every board in the league had Jatta lower, and that gap is the story. The Dunker pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with linebacker and running back still on the board.
That linebacker hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 21st pick they get a rangy last line of defense, and a steal at that. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Monroe Freeling in Round 2, Pick 21 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Gennings Dunker at offensive lineman with linebacker and running back open.
A top-tier edge rusher at a bargain, Jake Golday in the Round 3 slot, plain and simple. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Darrell Jackson Jr. at the 99th overall pick jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Somehow Zachariah Branch was still sitting there in slot 121, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Bud Clark at pick 135 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Steal is underselling it; Oscar Delp at No. 161 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
You do not let a cornerback like Domani Jackson reach No. 216 and blink. They did not. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on Isaiah Jatta in pick No. 224, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
A quarterback of that caliber at the 230th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Nothing to complain about; Zavion Thomas went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.