B+
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers let McNeil-Warren fall and pounced. Final grade: B+.
by Lamtc4 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 9 steals
· 1 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Steelers watched Emmanuel McNeil-Warren slide 38 picks past his grade and did not hesitate. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B+.
Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. If Allar pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped running back, which is a strange place to end up.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 25 they get protection for the quarterback. More want than need.
Lee Hunter at the Round 2 slot nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Zachariah Branch at Round 3, Pick 12 is the proof. It fills a real need, too.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at the 89th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Taking Jake Golday in pick No. 91 is close to grand larceny; an edge rusher that good had no business lasting this long. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Kyle Louis at the 92nd overall pick. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Skyler Bell in slot 121 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The roster fit checks out.
The board had Julian Neal higher than No. 126, and the cornerback fell to them anyway. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Value with a capital V on Jack Endries in slot 129, a genuine coup. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Drew Allar at Round 4, Pick 35 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A tidy bit of business in No. 161, where Isaiah World graded well above the range. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Nice patience on Zxavian Harris, who had no business lasting to the Round 5 slot. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.