The 2026 NFL Draft is weeks away, and there are some positional need favorites to be the Steelers’ first-round pick. There should be enough options to sit tight, but if they do move up, Gerry Dulac believes there’s one position they might consider. There are several potential positional options, but one, with the right prospect, might represent the most value.
Asked about the Steelers trading up in the first round, Dulac wrote in a recent chat, “They are not going to move up to take a guard. And there are enough WRs that they don’t need to give up a prime draft pick merely to move up. Now safety…..?”
Guard, wide receiver, and safety are the popular guesses for the Steelers’ first-round pick, but relative to class volume and quality at the top, it does seem that trying the land the best safety possible would make the most sense if they were to decide to trade up.
While Caleb Downs isn’t likely in the Steelers’ first-round range, would they trade up for Dillon Thieneman? That is the name a lot of beat writers seem to be gravitating toward. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren out of Toledo is another likely first-round candidate.
On our own Steelers Depot draft big board, Downs is the only one they would have to trade up for. And he wouldn’t be anywhere close to their trade-up range. Of course, the draft isn’t going to unfold the way our own board does, as should go without saying. McNeil-Warren sits at 23, and Thieneman 28, and Pittsburgh drafts 21st.
Of course, safety isn’t the Steelers’ only first-round option, even to consider trading up. Dulac did previously promote the idea that they could consider TE Kenyon Sadiq. And if they did want him, they may well have to trade up for him. But more broadly, there is a clear cluster of positions. Guard and wide receiver are the others associated with the team. But is Olaivavega Ioane worth trading up for with plenty of Day 2 options?
With all that said, Dulac still seems to think the smart money is the Steelers drafting a position he thinks they shouldn’t trade up for: wide receiver. The top names include Carnell Tate and Jordan Tyson, Makai Lemon and KC Concepcion. There are also Omar Cooper Jr. and Denzel Boston in the first-round conversation, so unless there is a run—which is certainly possible—it’s understandable that one might resist the idea of the Steelers making a trade up to get one in particular.
Regardless of how it unfolds, Pittsburgh is positioned to add a quality player at a key position. If the Steelers want to trade up in the first round for an impact safety, they have the picks to do it. But nobody would say no to a potential Pro Bowl guard or, finally, a stable, productive wide receiver.
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