The Steelers may have once intended to land their franchise quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft, but they may not even draft one. A year ago at this time, the potential for this year’s quarterback class seemed much brighter. With visions of Arch Mannings dancing in their heads, this was going to be a great opportunity. To the best of their abilities, they maneuvered to secure extra draft capital to that end.
But with perhaps only one quarterback in this draft class worthy of a first-round pick, and well out of the Steelers’ reach, what will they do? With the assumption that Aaron Rodgers returns, how ought Pittsburgh to approach the quarterback position? They still have Mason Rudolph under contract, and even the new head coach is singing Will Howard’s praises. In the opinion of beat reporter Mark Kaboly, they won’t—and shouldn’t—do anything.
“If Rodgers comes back, I don’t see the Steelers drafting a quarterback at all this year,” he wrote in a mailbag session on X. “It wouldn’t make any sense. Think about it: If Rodgers comes back and you decide to draft a quarterback in the first day or two of the draft and you love Howard, that means you go into the season with a soon-to-be 43-year-old quarterback and two backups that have a total of zero NFL snaps. Sure, there are exceptions to everything, but this exception would have to be exceptional.”
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Mark Kaboly / Steelers Correspondent
For The @PatMcAfeeShow
PITTSBURGH — Mike McCarthy’s coaching staff is in place, so now it’s time for arguably the most important part of the offseason to kick… pic.twitter.com/M6XU3PrZg4
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) February 12, 2026
Outside of Fernando Mendoza, nobody seems too crazy about the quarterbacks coming out in this draft class. Ty Simpson has a chance of going in the first round, but the only analysts who seem to have the Steelers drafting him are the ones who insist they must take a quarterback.
It does seem likely, at this point, that Aaron Rodgers returns, and assuming he does, he is the Steelers’ starter. Pittsburgh also returns the rest of last year’s quarterback room in Rudolph and Howard, whom Mike McCarthy praised. So if even the new coaching staff likes the room, what are the odds they’ll toy with it?
Then again, the Steelers have 12 draft picks—for now—so they can afford to take a proverbial flyer on a quarterback. At least, they can in a broader sense, but one must also consider the implications Kaboly raises. If they really like Will Howard so much, Mason Rudolph would be the odd man out. And then you have two players behind Aaron Rodgers who are essentially rookies.
Or, alternatively, the Steelers could do what the Browns bluffed doing last year and threaten to carry four quarterbacks. Cleveland eventually traded Kenny Pickett and kept two actual rookie quarterbacks as Joe Flacco’s backup quarterbacks. They later traded Flacco and had a rookie backing up a rookie. So it’s not inconceivable, and Rodgers is no more fragile than Flacco.
Some argue that for as long as you don’t have a franchise quarterback, you need to keep swinging the bat. For the Steelers, that would mean drafting a quarterback at some point this year. They know Aaron Rodgers is not a long-term answer, and that Mason Rudolph isn’t an answer at all. Will Howard gives us the warm and fuzzies, but hell, so did Duck Hodges for a couple of weeks. With their cache of picks, if they stumble upon an “upside” guy they like, it might not be the worst approach. Otherwise, they’re pushing the problem into 2027—which isn’t the worst approach, either.
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