Will the Pittsburgh Steelers dip into the quarterback talent pool early in the 2026 NFL Draft? Only if they feel like one of the prospects can be an eventual starter. According to at least one NFL scout, there aren’t any of those in this class.
“This is really a bunch of backups,” one scout told Bob McGinn for his annual scouting series via Go Long. “They are not starting-caliber guys.”
It was just a year ago around this time when Steelers assistant GM Andy Weidl openly discussed the 2026 QB class and how talented it looked. LaNorris Sellers, Drew Allar, Garrett Nussmeier, Cade Klubnik, and Arch Manning were all thought to be possible candidates in the first round. Most of them went back to school, and the few who declared have a near-zero chance of being taken in the first round.
McGinn compiled the quotes, “horrible,” “very weak,” and “terrible” as words that scouts and personnel execs around the league used to describe the class.
“There’s not a real difference maker,” one scout said via McGinn. “There’s no bona-fide, can’t-miss quarterback.”
Fernando Mendoza’s name might as well be etched in stone as the No. 1 overall pick. He’s the safest pick of the group, but some experts don’t even view him as the top prospect in the class. Dan Orlovsky infamously put his name behind Ty Simpson as QB1 over Mendoza and received a lot of pushback in the process.
At least one scout seems to agree with that idea.
“You could argue Ty Simpson over Mendoza,” one scout told McGinn.
But even Simpson has heavy detractors in some scouting circles.
“He’s a little guy that’s wild and inconsistent. He doesn’t have a good feel for timing. He’s terrible against pressure…He should have stayed in school. You’re really just gambling,” another scout told McGinn.
Here is how the panel of scouts ranked the quarterback class through McGinn’s polling process.
1. Fernando Mendoza/Indiana
2. Ty Simpson/Alabama
3. Taylen Green/Arkansas
4. Drew Allar/Penn State
5. Garrett Nussmeier/LSU
6. Cole Payton/North Dakota State
7. Carson Beck/Miami (FL)
8. Joe Fagnano/Connecticut
9. Sawyer Robertson/Baylor
10. Cade Klubnik/Clemson
11. Behren Morton/Texas Tech
12. Luke Altmyer/Illinois
13. Jalon Daniels/Kansas
14. Haynes King/Georgia Tech
15. Jake Retzlaff/Brigham Young
The most surprising ranking to me is Taylen Green at No. 3. Yes, he has the traits at 6-6, 228 pounds, but he is as inconsistent as they come and much more of a runner than a thrower. Are the scouts too high on his traits, or are they just that low on the rest of the class?
The Steelers are best to avoid this class altogether unless one of Drew Allar, Garrett Nussmeier, or Cole Payton falls way down the board to the fifth or sixth round as Will Howard did a year ago.
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