The 2026 NFL Draft, which just so happens to be in Pittsburgh, was expected to be the year that the Pittsburgh Steelers, under GM Omar Khan, addressed the quarterback position in a big way.
Coming into the year, names like Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, Texas’ Arch Manning, Miami (FL)’s Carson Beck, Penn State’s Drew Allar, and even South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers were the big names at the position, creating significant hype for the class at the most crucial position in sports.
But then, once the games started, a number of those names fell apart. Klubnik has taken a significant step back, Beck has been far too inconsistent, Allar was bad early in the year and then was lost for the season with an injury, and Sellers has been too up and down.
Right now, it seems far more likely that Manning, Sellers, and even Oregon’s Dante Moore return to school, kicking the can down the road to 2027 at the quarterback position. That doesn’t mean other names haven’t emerged, though. That is especially true of Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who is playing like a Heisman Trophy candidate and could be the No. 1 pick in the class.
Outside of Mendoza, what’s the rest of the QB class look like? Well, it has two anonymous NFL executives telling The Athletic’s Jeff Howe that it’s not good and a real concern.
“Nobody is playing the position well enough to be like, ‘That dude can take over my franchise,’” one NFL executive said to Howe.
“I don’t love any of (the quarterbacks) right now,” a second executive said to Howe. “We’re trying to grasp onto somebody because there isn’t anybody, and it’s such a flavor of the week. Good luck right now.”
Good luck. Oh boy.
That executive isn’t wrong, though. Outside of Mendoza, what quarterback in the draft class looks like the sure thing? There isn’t one. Even Mendoza has some concerns at this point and isn’t a surefire No. 1-type quarterback, though the Steelers have gotten a good look at him in recent weeks.
It’s a good reminder of just how fast things can change from the summer to the midway point of the season when it comes to draft prospects, especially the quarterback position. The 2026 class was hyped up to be a great one, one that could potentially rival the 2024 quarterback class.
Instead, it looks like it could be another dud of a class at the position, which could prove problematic for several teams, including the Steelers.
While Aaron Rodgers has played good football for much of the season for the Steelers, it’s likely just a one-year partnership between him and the Steelers. Of course, he could always decide to come back and play another season, but that seems unlikely at this point.
Mason Rudolph will return on the final year of his contract, which he signed as a free agent this past offseason, and rookie quarterback Will Howard will be around, too. However, the Steelers need to find a long-term solution at quarterback. There’s a belief in Howard from some pockets of the fan base and the media, but without seeing him on the field at all this season after having missed all of the preseason with a broken finger, it’s hard to bank on him being the answer.
The Steeles could theoretically kick the can down the road to 2027 again, and maybe roll with another one-year stop-gap veteran at the position in Rodgers, Joe Flacco, or even Kirk Cousins. However, the Steelers are stuck in a state of limbo at the quarterback position in the post-Ben Roethlisberger Era and need to find a solution.
There’s still time for the 2026 QB class to take shape, but right now, some in the league are concerned.
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