I cordially dislike mock drafts that include a trade. Simulators that allow trades are about as realistic from a GM perspective as the coaching prowess in a Madden game. Alas, but this one is going to be a major challenge for 2026 because the Steelers have so many picks that some kind of moves seem inevitable. Twelve (12) overall, including five in the top 100, and seven in the top 150! The team also needs to amass extra draft capital for 2027, where most of us expect a trade up to finally target a potential franchise QB. All of which means that Omar Khan has the ammunition to move up in this year’s class if he sees a huge bargain, and/or to move back in exchange for 2027 consideration.
If you missed 2026 Mock Draft 1.0, check it out HERE!
Welcome to trade situation #1. I may not like it, but it’s got to be explored.
FREE AGENCY ASSUMPTIONS
Huge news! The Steelers allow SAF/CB Jalen Ramsey to test free agency, and he gets an offer they are not willing to match. The Steelers compensate by signing Rams SAF Kamren Curl to bring solid veteran presence at only 26 years of age, for a few million dollars less against the cap.
The Steelers will also retain/replace an experienced box safety such as Chuck Clark or Kyle Dugger.
The Steelers will get a high quality WR2 in free agency, such as WR Romeo Doubs or an equivalent player. Anything to allow more of a BPA approach in the draft.
The Steelers will also get an acceptable WR3, even if the front office thinks Roman Wilson can assume those duties. At the very least he ought to have serious competition. For this draft I’m assuming the Steelers retain WR Calvin Austin or sign an equivalent player.
The Steelers will retain CB James Pierre.
The Steelers will retain CB Asante Samuel Jr. or sign an equivalent
THE PICKS
Round 1
TRADE
Pittsburgh gets Pick 1:15 from Tampa Bay in exchange for our 1st rounder (#21 overall), the first 3rd rounder (#76 overall), and 5th rounder (#135 overall)
Tampa Bay fell out of the playoffs for the first time since 2020, but won’t fix its issues with any single pick. The team really needs a good, solid, restocking at core “low value” positions like ILB, OL depth, and probably TE. Plus EDGE. All of those should have good prospects available at 1:21 without a lot of drop-off, and the extra picks in Rounds 3 and 5 will surely offer depth and quality contributors. The trade will also free the team up to go BPA with its own picks in Rounds 2 and 3.
Pittsburgh has a surfeit of 2026 picks, and the value matches up on my preferred trade chart. Trading up won’t obtain the 2027 draft capital I want, but I could not resist the chance to select:
Round 1, Pick 15 = SAF Caleb Downs, Ohio St. via Alabama (Junior). 6-0, 205 lbs. Born Dec. 10, 2004 (21 years old).
The free agency moves have left Pittsburgh with competent but unexciting safeties going into the draft. It’s actually a pretty strong class in Rounds 2-3, and most of us have penciled in a likely starter from that range.
Caleb Downs flies in a different stratosphere. A comparable talent at CB would certainly go in the Top 5-10. Downs could fall, however, because the Positional Value calculation argues so strongly against spending a Round 1 pick on the safety position – especially when there will be good talent available later on. But Downs? I’ll take someone of that caliber any day and every day. And it could really happen when you consider Kyle Hamilton falling to #15 in 2022, and Troy Polamalu to #16 in 2002.
This goes to Larry Zierlein’s NFL.com scouting profile, which could hardly be more glowing. Heck, it might even have been written about Polamalu himself as a draft prospect.
“Downs is an alpha who brings immense juice on each snap. He’s at his best when deployed near the line as a box safety or big nickel back. He’ll gamble a little bit as a run defender, but he makes more than enough disruptive plays near the line of scrimmage to make up for it… Disciplined in processing… Becomes a tackle magnet once the run spills outside… Plays with outstanding awareness and is hard to con with misdirection… Good instincts and burst… Quick finisher… Consistently limits YAC against the quick game.”
Even the critiques would have applied to the USC version of The Hair From Hell (to quote the fans in Baltimore): “Lacks length to defend jump balls,” “Downhill appetite can get him trapped in the trash,” and “Inconsistent wrapping and running through tackles.”
Finding a potentially great safety would serve double duty this year because new DC Patrick Ramsey loves to have versatile jokers in the middle of the defense, which translates specifically to really good Safeties. “Competent but unexciting” could be an issue from his perspective. And you know what? I would endorse this trade even if Jalen Ramsey doesn’t depart in free agency, because he is more of a free safety than a strong safety, and the rookie version of Caleb Downs could not ask for a better mentor.
Also considered: In a trade up situation? No one. Maybe WR Carnell Tate or Jordyn Tyson, but probably not.
Round 2
Pick 2:21 (#53 overall) – WR Germie Bernard (“JERMy BERnard”), Alabama via Washington (Senior). 6-0, 210 lbs. Born December 2, 2003 (22 years old).
Remember: the team has picked up players similar to Romeo Doubs and Calvin Austin in free agency, so the room isn’t exactly bare going into the draft:
2026 STEELERS WIDE RECEIVER ROOM
X receiver = DK Metcalf
Z receiver = Free Agent Romeo Doubs
WR3 = Calvin Austin or Roman Wilson
WR4 = Roman Wilson or Calvin Austin
WR5 = Draft Pick
Utility = Ben Skoronek
What style and type of receiver will the team target? I’d like to see some jump ball size to pair with and understudy DK Metcalf, but an overall talent would work too; particularly a Joker for an offensive guru like Mike McCarthy to play with. Enter Germie Bernard.
My nominee for the 2026 Boy Named Sue award is a dense, tough, blocking WR with very good experience, football IQ, locker room presence, overall wiring, and solid route running ability. But his best assets appear once he’s got the ball in his hands. Bernard has the sort of talent that gets you lined up in the backfield too. Think of the Deebo Samuel prototype with a little less speed. Bernard has even got a good-for-college route tree. He’ll leap into a Round 1 option if he manages to run in the high 4.3’s. Alas for him, but 4.5-something seems a lot more likely. Bernard projects especially well as a big slot prospect on a team that requires brains and blocking at the WR position, but he should have no problem sliding outside. Versatility is the calling card, with “big slot” simply being at the midpoint.
Also considered: WRs Omar Cooper Jr., Elijah Sarratt, Skyler Bell, and Malachi Fields. G/T Austin Siereveld.
Round 3
Pick 3:12 (#76 overall). TRADED TO TAMPA BAY IN ROUND 1
See above.
Pick 3:21 (#85 overall). G/T Gennings Dunker, Iowa (RS Senior). 6-4⅞, 320 lbs. with 34” arms and 10” hands. Born May 8, 2003 (22 years old).
Picking a WR and a secondary player in the first two rounds will give Andy Weidl an incipient migraine. Two high picks totaling less than a quarter ton? Oh my heavens! Gennings Dunker will ease his pain, and go far toward final completion of the Great OL Rebuild.
Dunker is a college RT who’s expected to move inside, where he shows every sign of growing into solid pro. The positive descriptions all use words like “tough”, “nasty,” “people-mover,” “rugged,” “strong,” “powerful,” “pop in his hands,” “old school,” and the like. The critiques use words like “mediocre agility,” and “can be lumbering.” Get the picture? He is a football player who happens to be an offensive lineman, with movement skills good enough to play on an island in college but not at the next level. Brandon Thorn’s November scouting profile compares Dunker to Mason McCormick, except seemingly a little bigger and more advanced.
Also considered: G/T Jude Bowry, G/T Kage Casey, OG Case Bisontis, OG Keylan Rutledge.
Pick 3:35 (#99 overall). ILB Taurean York, Texas A&M (Junior). 5-10½, 232 lbs. with 30⅛” arms and 8¾” hands. Born Jun. 21, 2005 (20 years old).
I have fewer issues with the Pittsburgh ILB group than many other fans, but (a) one of the articles by Kevin Smith that I cited above specifically calls for better ILB play, and (b) I write these mocks partly to familiarize readers with prospects they won’t yet know. This young man is quickly growing into a personal draft crush based on everything I’ve read.
Taurean York is a gen-u-ine football player who will stand in the middle of a defense and raise all boats around him. Leadership? He is a two year team captain, starting with his election as an 18 year old sophomore. Smarts? He was the green dot guy and communications hub for one of college football’s premier defenses – at the age of 20. Coverage skills? Aces. See-to-do burst? Aces. Closing speed? Aces. Tackling angles? Aces. Build? Aces… from side to side. York’s draft stock would be much higher if he was four inches taller.
Make no mistake. Size really does matter in the NFL, even for modern linebackers. I like Taurean York despite those missing inches. Yes, it limits things like his tackling radius and his ability to bat down passes. But he’s also stocky enough to take the constant physicality of an NFL season. I’m not worried about his ability to survive the beating, which isn’t true for a lot of his peers.
Also considered: DT Dontay Corleone, RB Justice Haynes, WR/KR Eric Singleton, Jr.
Round 4
Pick 4:21(#121 overall). CB/ST Hezekiah (“hez-eh-KAI-ya”) Masses, California via FIU (Senior). 6-⅝, 180 lbs. with 30⅞” arms and 8⅛” hands.
Hezekiah Masses is a balanced prospect who gets a solid B across the board – but that is a “B” based on averages, and the reality is more a tale of particular highs and lows. His measurable athleticism is likely to be closer to an NFL-average C. That gets offset by his ability to play both zone and man systems well, with flashes of A-level play in press coverage. OTOH, he earns a D when it comes to grabbiness. He won’t be seeing an NFL field unless that cleans up significantly. The tackling also earns a C, which could be an issue because he’s a lean and wiry type who isn’t built for that part of the job. But then there’s that special teams expertise, where he has shown the desired physicality as a gunner, with added value as a return man. There’s also B+ statistical production, including good interceptions to prove his hands. And he had a Senior Bowl performance so good that the original Day expectations may have to be revised. It adds up to someone well worth a pick in the middle of Round 4.
Yes, his skill set will overlap to some extent with Round 1 pick Caleb Downs. But I am willing to accept that price due to his immediate special teams value, his utility as yet another midfield puzzle piece for Patrick Graham’s defense, and his potential to grow into a full time boundary corner.
Also considered: QB Cade Klubnik, QB Sawyer Robertson, QB Garrett Nussmeier, and QB Taylen Green.
Pick 4:35 (#135 overall). QB Drew Allar, Penn St. (Senior). 6-5, 240 lbs. Born Mar. 8, 2004 (21 years old).
A lot of QBs went into 2024 with Round 1 buzz, and none has fallen more than Penn State’s Drew Allar – especially with local fans. He is the #1 boom or bust prospect of the draft. Allar’s physical talent inspires comparisons to Josh Allen, Big Ben, or an extra mobile Joe Flacco. Box checked in big, indelible marker. The issue? His big 2025 leap turned into a massive 2025 dud, on an offense that went dud even worse after he broke an ankle in October. Allar certainly bears some of the blame for those failures, and it’s going to take some very deep dives to figure out what went wrong and how much he can improve. Penn State fans regularly accuse Allar of “lacking fire in the belly,” and “stumbling in big moments instead of stepping up.” They’d know better than me, but I think all of us will need to defer to anyone who actually interviews the young man and his coaches.
The main problem on film can be summed up as very spotty mechanics that result in occasional throws that completely miss the zip code. It sometimes happens for no apparent reason, and certainly doesn’t get better when he’s pressured. Drew Allar is one of those prospects who must hook up with a high end mechanics guru. IMHO his stock could go up by a full round depending on who he hires. Whiteboard work and interviews will also be huge. And one has to plan on at least one, and hopefully two or three redshirt years in which he can rebuild his throwing motion from the ground up, swallow an NFL playbook, learn to read an NFL defense, and become an NFL professional.
Most of a rookie contract gone before we know anything. That’s a significant asterisk. But no one will care if Drew Allar hits.
CONCLUSION
Any draft that includes Caleb Downs is a winner in my book, and those other names are all good picks at areas of need, with the possible exception of an ILB who deserves to be getting more attention. This will do. Let me know your thoughts down in the comments.
Notable Free Agency Moves
FS/CB Jalen Ramsey departs
SAF Kamren Curl
WR Romeo Doubs (or equivalent)
WR Calvin Austin (or equivalent)
CB James Pierre
Asante Samuel Jr. (or equivalent)
SS Chuck Clark or Kyle Dugger
Draft Picks
1:15 = TRADE. SS Caleb Downs
2:21 (#53 overall) = WR Germie Bernard, Alabama
3:12 (#76 overall) = TRADED AWAY
3:21 (#85 overall) = G/T Gennings Dunker, Iowa
3:35 (#99 overall) = ILB Taurean York, Texas A&M
4:21(#121 overall) = CB/ST Hezekiah Masses, California
4:35 (#135 overall) = QB Drew Allar, Penn St.
