Whether the Steelers will take a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft or not, they are certainly doing their homework. Reportedly, they had formal meetings with three quarterbacks during the Combine, all of whom left positive impressions. They may or may not draft any of them, but due diligence is always necessary when you lack long-term answers.
According to Mike DeFabo of The Athletic, the Steelers met with Ty Simpson, Drew Allar, and Carson Beck among the draft candidates at quarterback. Of the three, Simpson is the only one in serious conversation for the first round. Allar, once upon a time, might have been in that conversation, too, before his injury and decline.
“I heard from several people that all three had positive meetings”, DeFabo wrote of the Steelers’ meetings with the aforementioned 2026 Draft quarterbacks. “At least above the neck, they put their best foot forward”.
The Steelers seemingly had high hopes of finding their future franchise quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft. Last year, they talked openly about stockpiling and preserving draft picks for this class, quarterback being the obvious need.
As the year progressed, however, it became clear that this would not be the quarterback draft class the Steelers, or any team in need of one, hoped it would be. Fernando Mendoza, widely expected to go first overall, seems the only sure-fire first-round pick, Simpson in a distant second.
Right now, the Steelers have Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson, and 2025 sixth-round draft pick Will Howard under contract at quarterback. They are hoping Aaron Rodgers re-signs, and hoping he does so soon. But whether he does or does not will not alter their plans for the future, as he would be, at best, another one-year stopgap.
The Steelers have talked a big game about last year’s draft pick, Howard, as a potential option at quarterback. Considering he hasn’t even played in a preseason game, one ought to consume that with a handful of salt. But I’m sure they’re excited about working with him, even if the odds are stacked against him in terms of actually developing into a franchise quarterback.
As the Steelers are remembering, it’s not easy to find a franchise quarterback, whether through the draft or otherwise. They have drafted, they have gone to free agency, and they have even traded for a quarterback. If he re-signs, Aaron Rodgers would be the first, likely, to make it two full years as a starter.
But the thing is, you have no choice but to keep trying. And while you don’t want to reach to draft a quarterback in the first round if he doesn’t look like the answer, the Steelers have enough draft picks to accommodate a later pick, like Allar and Beck, just to have a horse in the race.
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