The Steelers’ recent trade will likely spark debate for years, but at least one aspect stuck to a forward-looking agenda. Pittsburgh sent former All-Pro S Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins for CB Jalen Ramsey and TE Jonnu Smith. Less explored is the draft pick compensation exchanged between the teams, and what that means.
Along with Fitzpatrick, the Steelers sent the Dolphins a fifth-round pick on their end of the trade, and Miami contributed a seventh-round pick. Both picks, however, are not for next year’s draft, but rather for 2027. This follows a similar pattern, mirroring the Steelers’ other trades this offseason that avoid weakening their 2026 Draft class haul.
We know why this is, or at least can easily infer it. Pittsburgh is targeting a quarterback in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and is accumulating resources for that. The Steelers’ trades show they are not giving up on this season, but are also mindful of next year.
When the Steelers traded George Pickens to the Cowboys, for example, they gained a 2026 third-round pick. They also swapped a 2027 sixth-round pick for a 2027 fifth-round pick. When they traded for DK Metcalf, they kept that compensation limited to the 2025 NFL Draft.
We know the Steelers have been mindful of their 2026 draft picks, because they are on record. Back in May, after the Pickens trade, Steelers GM Omar Khan made things very clear. “It was important for us to acknowledge the fact that we could be in a position to acquire comp picks next year”, he said. “That’s obviously something that was [in] the back of our minds when we made decisions”.
One decision the Steelers made was moving on from a 2024 trade acquisition, CB Donte Jackson, and replacing him with Darius Slay. They signed Slay to a one-year, $10 million deal. But they targeted him specifically because the Eagles released him. In other words, signing Slay did not hurt the teams’ potential 2026 compensatory draft pick formula.
In addition to Jackson, the Steelers also lost Dan Moore Jr., Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, James Daniels, Najee Harris, Elandon Roberts, and Mike Williams. They only signed two qualifying compensatory free agents—Malik Harrison and Mason Rudolph. Combined with the Steelers’ 2026 draft picks acquired via trade, they could have 12 selections next year.
That includes at least three third-round picks—one of the Steelers’ own, one compensatory pick for Moore, and one from Dallas for the Pickens trade. It’s also possible that either Wilson or Fields could generate a third-round value based on playing time and performance.
While they only have two picks in the first two rounds, the extra draft picks give Pittsburgh greater flexibility to work the draft board next year. By being mindful of the 2026 NFL Draft class in their trade moves this offseason, the Steelers are maximizing that. Even in this recent trade, in which they suffered a net loss, they pushed that to 2027, rather than 2026. It’s a small but shrewd detail from the trade that brought us Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith.
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