Updating the Steelers’ roster after the 2026 NFL Draft

Running back (7)

• Jaylen Warren
• Rico Dowdle
• Kaleb Johnson
• Travis Homer
• Eli Heidenreich\*
• Max Hurleman
• Lew Nichols While neither are superstars, Warren and Dowdle form a rock solid one-two punch at the top of the depth chart. Kaleb Johnson’s roster spot looks more and more in jeopardy as Pittsburgh continues to add to the room and move towards a gap scheme, but it’s still anyone’s guess as to who makes the final roster. Homer brings special teams ability. Heidenreich is a fun late-round flyer.

Fullback (1)

• Riley Nowakowski\* Nowakowski was an undersized college tight end who the Steelers have already moved to fullback on their depth chart. He’s a good player and a strong blocker and should already be a roster lock.

Wide receiver (10)

• DK Metcalf
• Michael Pittman Jr.
• Germie Bernard\*
• Roman Wilson
• Ben Skowronek
• Kaden Wetjen\*
• A.T. Perry
• Cole Burgess
• John Rhys Plumlee
• Brandon Smith Metcalf/Pittman/Bernard gives the Steelers their best wide receiver trio in quite some time. In fact, the top six seem more or less set with Skowronek as a special teamer, Wetjen as a return specialist, and Wilson hanging on as WR4. This room could be more inspiring, but it’s already leaps and bounds above what it was last year.

Tight end (5)

• Pat Freiermuth
• Darnell Washington
• JJ Galbreath
• *Chamon Metayer*\*
• *Lake McRee*\* Freiermuth is a plus receiving tight end and Washington is one of the best blockers at his position in the NFL. TE3 — if the Steelers want to keep one alongside Nowakowski — but it shouldn’t be as much of an emphasis in Mike McCarthy’s offense as it was in Arthur Smith’s.

Offensive line (16)

1. Troy Fautanu (OT)
2. Mason McCormick (OG)
3. Zach Frazier (C)
4. Gennings Dunker (OG)\*
5. Max Iheanachor (OT)\*
6. Broderick Jones (OT)
7. Spencer Anderson (OT)
8. Brock Hoffman (IOL)
9. Dylan Cook (OT)
10. Ryan McCollum (C)
11. Jack Driscoll (OT)
12. Steven Jones (OG)
13. Sataoa Laumea (OG)
14. Aiden Williams (OG)
15. Doug Nester (OG)
16. Lorenzo Thompson (OG) With the Iheanachor and Dunker picks, Pittsburgh seems to have completed its offensive line rebuild with young, high-pedigree names at every starting spot. There are still a lot of question marks as to who lines up where and overall development, but Pittsburgh’s overall depth on the O-line might be among the best in the league.

Defense

Defensive line (13)

• Cameron Heyward
• Derrick Harmon
• Keeanu Benton
• Sebastian Joseph-Day
• Yahya Black
• Esezi Otomewo
• Dean Lowry
• Logan Lee
• Gabriel Rubio\*
• Anthony Goodlow
• Jahvaree Ritzie
• Kyler Baugh
• *Kevin Jobity Jr.*\* Heyward won’t stay elite forever, but the Steelers’ defensive line room is as solid as any in the NFL. The Rubio pick adds another name to the mix for the rest of the depth chart.

Outside linebacker (6)

• T.J. Watt
• Alex Highsmith
• Nick Herbig
• Jack Sawyer
• Julius Welschof
• KJ Henry Watt and Highsmith are both another season older, but the Steelers’ outside linebacker room is still one of the better ones in the NFL.

Inside linebacker (5)

• Patrick Queen
• Payton Wilson
• Malik Harrison
• Cole Holcomb
• Carson Bruener Somewhat surprisingly, Pittsburgh didn’t add to its inside linebacker room in the draft. Still, on paper it looks good enough even if the Queen/Wilson/Harrison combination struggled to reach its potential in 2025. This room looks a little thin entering camp — keep an eye on the Steelers adding a cheap free agent here over the summer.

Cornerback (11)

• Joey Porter Jr.
• Jamel Dean
• Jalen Ramsey
• Brandin Echols
• Asante Samuel Jr.
• Daylen Everette\*
• Donte Kent
• Cory Trice Jr.
• D’Shawn Jamison
• Daequan Hardy
• Doneiko Slaughter Porter/Dean/Ramsey are an exciting starting cornerback trio, and the newly-drafted Everette won’t be forced into the lineup anytime soon and Echols and Samuel look the part of quality depth. Trice and Kent are still in the roster mix entering camp. We’ll still have to see how this group pans out as a whole, but it should be stronger than the secondary the Steelers fielded to open last season.

Safety (6)

• Jaquan Brisker
• DeShon Elliott
• Sebastian Castro
• Robert Spears-Jennings\*
• Jack Henderson
• *Devan Boykin*\* Darnell Savage still isn’t signed despite reports he’ll end up in Pittsburgh eventually. Brisker and Elliott are both good players in their own right, but there are a lot of strong safeties and a worrying lack of range in this room at the moment.

Specialists

Kicker (2)

• Chris Boswell
• *Laith Marjan\** Boswell is still one of the best kickers in the NFL. Marjan is a solid camp leg.

Punter (1)

• Cameron Johnston I’d expect the team to add another camp leg here at some point, but it looks like Johnston has the starting job locked down.

Long snapper (2)

• Christian Kuntz
• Cal Adomitis Kuntz has had the odd struggle in past seasons, but he’s been a serviceable long snapper for the Steelers. We’ll see if Adomitis (58 career games) can challenge for a roster spot. ***What are your thoughts on Pittsburgh’s roster? Where are its strengths, and where could the team still sign another player?*** *Join the BTSC community and let us know in the comments.*