B
Pittsburgh Steelers
Bell should have been long gone. The Steelers pounced, and earned a B.
by jdj029 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 9 steals
· 1 reaches
Somebody in pick 121 was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Steelers sat still while Chris Bell, the No. 40 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium.
They are betting Spears-Jennings proves the room right and everyone else wrong. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped cornerback, which is a strange place to end up.
They left with quarterback solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off. Value over need was the throughline, for better and worse.
Solid rather than spectacular, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 21 they get a rangy last line of defense, and a steal at that. The biggest hole, addressed.
Carnell Tate in the 53rd pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
The board fumbled Caleb Banks all the way to the 76th overall pick, and they scooped it up. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Jake Golday in No. 85 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Circle this one: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at pick No. 99 is a fall that decides a draft. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Steal is underselling it; Chris Bell at slot 121 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The roster fit checks out.
Keylan Rutledge at pick 135 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Nate Boerkircher in the Round 5 slot is fair value, right on his grade. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Zavion Thomas at Round 6, Pick 35 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Beau Stephens in the 224th overall pick, plain and simple. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They robbed the room for Sawyer Robertson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Value said wait; Robert Spears-Jennings in slot 237 says they were not listening. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.