Carson Beck
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The Athletic's Mike DeFabo reported the Pittsburgh Steelers are hosing Miami quarterback Carson Beck on a top 30 draft visit.
The Pittsburgh Steelers held their first Top 30 visit with a quarterback in the 2026 draft class Tuesday. But it wasn’t with projected first-round Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. Instead, the visit was with Miami signal-caller Carson Beck.
The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo reported on X that Beck was in Pittsburgh for the visit Tuesday.
“Beck led Miami to the national championship game and had a strong on-field workout at the combine,” DeFabo wrote. “With 43 starts (37-6 record), he has nearly three times as much experience as Ty Simpson (15 starts).
A vast majority of draft pundits have Simpson ranked as a better prospect than Beck. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein placed Beck in the “good backup with the potential to develop into starter” tier.
That’s generally not the tag line a team wants to see around a young signal-caller. Making matters worse for Steelers nation, Zierlein named Kenny Pickett his NFL comparison for Beck.
“Three-year starter who has weathered his share of ups and downs. Beck has NFL-caliber size and a lot of experience playing in high-leverage games,” wrote Zierlein.
“Beck projects as a good backup with the potential to earn a starting job down the road, but he must continue developing game-managing instincts.”
Pickett went 14-10 as a starter for the Steelers after the team selected him at No. 20 overall in 2022. But following the team successfully courting Russell Wilson in NFL free agency two years ago, Pickett requested to be traded.
During the first week of 2026 NFL free agency, Pickett signed with his fifth NFL team. He has completed 62.4% of his passes for 6.2 yards per attempt with 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 36 games.
Steelers Host Carson Beck for Top 30 Pre-Draft Visit
The Steelers hosting Beck on a pre-draft visit doesn’t come as a major surprise, but it’s notable nonetheless.
The team met with a lot of different quarterbacks, including Simpson, at the NFL combine. But Beck is the first quarterback to visit Pittsburgh for the team’s limited pre-draft visits. NFL draft insider Todd McShay linked the Steelers to Beck on a recent episode of his podcast.
“It’s not Ty Simpson at 21. I can tell you that for a fact,” McShay said, via Steelers Depot’s Troy Montgomery. I have heard them linked with Carson Beck, so that’s just something to keep an eye on.”
It’s important to note that McShay didn’t say Beck will be Pittsburgh’s first-round pick instead of Simpson. The Steelers hold the No. 21 selection in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Draft pundits have projected Simpson to be a first-rounder while Beck will be a Day 2 selection. With that in mind, McShay seems to be insinuating the Steelers like the prospects of taking Beck as a mid-round pick a lot more than Simpson at No. 21.
Naturally, the team is doing more homework on Beck.
That doesn’t mean they won’t do their homework on Simpson as well. The Steelers are just beginning to host draft prospects for Top 30 visits.
As of March 17, the Steelers have hosted six prospects out of the 30 allowed.
Beck spent six seasons in college at Georgia and Miami. He served as a backup on Georgia’s back-to-back national championship teams in 2021 and 2022.
Beck made a national championship game appearance as a starter with the Hurricanes last season.
In Miami, he completed 72.4% of his passes for 3,813 yards during 2025. He averaged 8.2 yards per pass with 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Is Beck the Next Kenny Pickett?
A lot of Steelers fans are going to dislike Beck immediately if he gets regularly compared to Pickett. But it’s important to note Zierlein’s comparisons are typically from a stylistic perspective.
It’s ironic Zierlein’s style match for Beck was Pickett because Simpson has drawn some comparisons to Pickett too. Most of that, though, has to do with the fact the Steelers are again picking in the No. 20-21 range, where they selected Pickett in 2022.
If the Steelers grab Beck on Day 2, the Miami quarterback isn’t likely to get tagged as the next Pickett.
The Steelers are potentially in the draft market for a quarterback because they don’t have a long-term answer behind center. The team appears to expect veteran Aaron Rodgers to return for 2026, but he will turn 43 years old in December.
Mason Rudolph and Will Howard are the quarterbacks on Pittsburgh’s current roster.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported on March 2 the Steelers are not interested in drafting a quarterback in the first round. Dulac also wrote the third round is likely the earliest the team will target a signal-caller in the 2026 draft.
Based on that report, it makes a lot more sense for the Steelers to do their homework on Beck. Simpson is not expected to still be on the draft board during Day 2 while the expectation is Beck will be.