The Steelers have the most draft capital at their disposal that they’ve had in a quarter of a century. How will they make use of it? With 12 total draft picks, including three in the third round and two in the fourth, they have options. But analyst Warren Sharp sees it as a golden opportunity for an organization they can’t afford to squander.
Quantified to a single figure, he estimates that the Steelers have a total draft value of 77.9. That is the seventh-most of all teams this year, which is impressive given they hold the 21st-overall pick. They haven’t held a higher draft value, or ranked higher, since 2000.
the Steelers are in position to have a have considerable upside in the draft
Pittsburgh has their most draft capital since 2000 (25 years)
first time they have top-10 draft capital in decades
they have 7 total picks in the first 4 rounds
can't afford to blow this opportunity pic.twitter.com/jpowC7M4Hn
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 26, 2026
interestingly, the Steelers had one of their lowest draft values just last year, ranking 30th overall. They traded their second-round pick that offseason for WR DK Metcalf, which explains that. But they still had a relatively successful draft, including Derrick Harmon in the first round.
According to Sharp’s chart, this is the first time the Steelers have held a draft value in the top 10 in any given year since 2000. It’s also the first time since then that they have had an overall draft value as high at 70. They only hit the 60s seven times in the years in between.
The year 2000 was the Steelers’ first draft with Kevin Colbert. That year, they held the eighth-overall pick, which they used on Plaxico Burress. It proved to be a rather good class, also producing Marvel Smith and Clark Haggans and Kendrick Clancy. But it probably wasn’t a class for the ages, to be fair. And it produced Tee Martin, one of the quarterbacks selected over Tom Brady.
Ultimately, the Steelers have a pretty good roster in place, or at least the bones of one. What they are obviously missing is a franchise quarterback. If the Steelers could pool resourced to help them draft one next year, it would behoove them to do so.
Needing a quarterback after Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, the Steelers mis-stepped in 2022 in drafting Kenny Pickett. It should have been a sign when nobody drafted any quarterback up to that point, and nobody did after for a while, either. It was easily one of the worst quarterback draft classes of all time.
At least this year, there is focus at the top about Fernando Mendoza. But the Steelers have no shot at him, so unless they believe in Ty Simpson, this draft seems dead in the water, at least in that aspect. If they can convert the value of this year’s class into next year’s, it would probably be in their best interests.
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