B-
Pittsburgh Steelers
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Steelers a B-.
by aechean ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 5 steals
· 6 reaches
There is reaching, and then there is Damonic Williams at the Round 7 slot. The Steelers jumped the board by 120 and dared it to prove them wrong. Call it a sensible B-, earned the boring way.
They banked enough surplus on Scott to cover a lot of smaller sins. They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own.
They will answer for taking offensive lineman early while linebacker and tight end went begging. They will regret leaving linebacker for another day if the season turns on it.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 25th pick they get a long-term starter on the line. Need was not the driver here.
A curious use of pick No. 49. Linebacker and tight end needed the pick; an offensive lineman in Emmanuel Pregnon did not.
A tidy little value on A.J. Haulcy in the Round 2 slot, a step better than break-even. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A straight-up fair deal on Domonique Orange at the 76th overall pick, value and slot in agreement. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Taking Zachariah Branch in Round 3, Pick 21 is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. A need, and now a little less of one.
Nicholas Singleton at slot 89 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They barely believed it either: Keionte Scott still on the board at No. 99. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They robbed the room for Deion Burks here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Drew Allar at the Round 4 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Parker Brailsford adds an offensive lineman and leaves linebacker and tight end untouched.
CJ Daniels at Round 4, Pick 35 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Patrick Payton at pick No. 161 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Toriano Pride Jr. slid further than he should have, and pick 216 is lovely value for the cornerback. The roster fit checks out.
Value said wait; Nick Barrett in the 224th pick says they were not listening. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A big swing on Damonic Williams at No. 230, well ahead of any board in the building. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Barion Brown in the 237th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.