The Pittsburgh Steelers have to find their way out of quarterback purgatory, and they might just have an under-the-radar plan to get themselves out of that rut. With four compensatory picks coming down the pipeline in 2026, the Steelers seem to have a ton of flexibility to move up the board in next year’s NFL Draft, which is viewed as a strong quarterback class.
The Steelers are scheduled to have one third, fourth, fifth, and sixth round compensatory pick, but if Russell Wilson and Justin Fields hit their incentives and playing time bonuses, the team could have up to three third-round compensatory picks. Offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. will already net them one.
That draft capital will be more than enough to give them the flexibility and aggressiveness to use other picks to jump up the board if needed. Those third round picks themselves may not come up in the talks, but the Steelers at least have them in their back pocket.
All of the extra picks Pittsburgh is getting seem targeted at the proposition of this team simply racking up as many picks as they can to position themselves for a move up the board. It’s a shrewd strategy that shows some forward-thinking from the front office.
Signing players such as Darius Slay or Aaron Rodgers continue to point to this, too. Neither of those players will count toward the compensatory pick formula for the Steelers since their previous teams cut them.
As drawn out as the 2025 offseason has been, and a lot of it can be criticized, the Steelers do seem to have a clear plan for how to attack the 2026 NFL Draft and, perhaps, finally get themselves out of the endless cycle of quarterbacks they have remained in over the last five years.
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