With 12 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers have the ammo to be aggressive with trades, moving up or down the board to land the players that they want.
GM Omar Khan has talked about it extensively in recent weeks, glad that he has the options to work with, especially with five picks inside the top 100.
Thanks to those picks, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Steelers get aggressive and move up in the first or second round to land high-end talent.
In ESPN’s Bill Barnwell early all-trades mock draft that published Monday morning, that’s exactly what the Steelers did with a pair of trades.
The first trade Barnwell has the Steelers making is sending a first rounder (No. 21 0verall), a third rounder (No. 76 overall) and a fourth rounder (No. 135 overall) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for No. 15 overall and a sixth round pick (No. 195 overall). In this scenario, they move ahead of the New York Jets at No. 16 overall to land Alabama QB Ty Simpson.
“There’s a decent chance that they could land him at 21,” Barnwell writes, “but with the Jets picking at No. 16, general manager Omar Khan would have to be reasonably worried that New York would be willing to take the Alabama quarterback in the middle of the first round as opposed waiting until the start of Round 2.”
Simpson has started just 15 career games in college, which is the biggest concern about his game and his resume, but there are plenty of draft analysts who buy into him as a potential franchise quarterback — in the right situation. Pittsburgh could be that situation for him.
After trading up to land Simpson, Barnwell later has the Steelers being aggressive again, this time trading back into the first round with the Kansas City Chiefs.
In Barnwell’s scenario, the Steelers trade back into the first round at No. 29 overall — a pick Kansas City recently acquired from the Los Angeles Rams in the Trent McDuffie trade. To get back into the first round, Barnwell has the Steelers dealing outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, a second rounder (No. 53) overall and a fourth rounder (No. 121 overall) for No. 29 overall.
“Trading Highsmith would open a spot in the Steelers’ starting lineup for Nick Herbig, who has been one of the most efficient pass rushers in football on a snap-by-snap basis over the past couple of seasons while serving as the third edge,” Barnwell writes. “Herbig is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and the Steelers won’t want to lose the former fourth-round pick for nothing in free agency. Coming off a 7.5-sack, 18-knockdown season, the Steelers could move Highsmith, sign Herbig to an extension and add more draft capital.
“This trade would value Highsmith as the 74th pick in a typical draft, a selection coming early in Round 3.”
Yes, the trade would create space for Herbig and could help the Steelers plug a hole elsewhere, like at receiver or along the offensive line. But trading Highsmith doesn’t seem like something the Steelers are going to do.
While he’s struggled to stay healthy in recent years, he’s been a force when on the field opposite T.J. Watt. During the 2025 season, Highsmith was one of the better EDGE defenders in football and finished with 9.5 sacks. He’s becoming an important voice in the room, too.
You don’t just move on from that, especially as a throw-in to a trade to move up into the first round.
Where the deal falls apart is from the perspective that Barnwell doesn’t have a specific target in mind.
“This would be another way for the Steelers to get ahead of teams at the start of Round 2 for Ty Simpson or for them to add help elsewhere,” Barnwell writes. “Pittsburgh used a first-round pick on Broderick Jones to serve as its potential left tackle of the future, but he hasn’t excelled anywhere on the line and suffered a scary neck injury last season. If Jones’ viability is a concern, either because of his play or injury, moving up here for a left tackle prospect might make sense for Pittsburgh.”
If you’re swinging this trade, dealing a key veteran and getting back into the first round, you’re doing it for a specific player in mind. That could be a receiver, or it could be an offensive lineman, giving the Steelers a chance to shore up the left side of the offensive line in 2026 and beyond.
Instead, Barnwell makes this move specifically for Herbig and then hopes the Steelers can make use of the first-round pick.
It’s a fun exercise to work through and try to follow Barnwell’s logic year after year. But this year, things went off the rails from the Steelers’ perspective, especially with the proposed trade of Highsmith.
We’ll see what the Steelers do later this month with all the draft capital at Khan’s disposal. Two first-round picks sure would be fun.
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