Steelers Have Top Priorities For Free Agency Finally Disclosed

The Pittsburgh Steelers have over 10 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, which will be held in the Steel City. It is going to be one of the biggest events on the North Shore in some time. There are a lot of theories out there about what the team could do to bolster the roster over the course of the weekend, but free agency will come first. General Manager Omar Khan could choose to be aggressive, as the organization will have plenty of financial wiggle room. Where those resources are allocated, however, remains to be seen with the franchise looking to stay competitive in the AFC North.

It is abundantly clear that the Steelers need to improve the wide receiving corps. There are no true answers for the quarterback position just yet, so the front office will await the decision of veteran Aaron Rodgers. Aside from those two areas of the depth chart, Pittsburgh must improve in other important spots if the goal is to be truly competitive in Mike McCarthy's first year at the helm.

Khan has been relatively aggressive since taking over the general manager role with the Steelers. This has been seen in forms of trades, signings, and draft picks. There's no reason to believe that will stop, especially now that Mike Tomlin won't be in charge of anything going on internally. What Pittsburgh does when the draft comes to town will be directly related to how the team approaches free agency.

In a recent fan chat hosted by Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the long-time insider was asked about what the organization is going to target before the draft, and his response was very clear-cut. The franchise is expected to go after three positions that are certainly of need.

"DT, G, CB," Dulac wrote.

Signing a defensive lineman (or multiple) as well as bringing in help at left guard and cornerback will work wonders for the Steelers. There are already internal options that could come into play here, but new faces comes to Pittsburgh will also be on the table. If Khan and co. can land the right free agents, then strictly focusing on improving the wide receivers' room can be easy once the 2026 NFL Draft begins.

Isaac Seumalo, Asante Samuel Jr. and James Pierre could quickly solve some holes for the Steelers. The left guard may be the most expensive out of everyone, but he performed well when healthy and was an anchor for the offensive line since signing with the team back in 2022. His Philadelphia connection to Andy Weidl can also not be ignored.

For Samuel and Pierre, they present different stories from 2025; however, both contributed when called upon. Samuel could come cheap on a one-year prove-it deal, while Pierre is a star special teams player that drastically improved on defense. Keeping both in-house, despite the potential changes coming to the defensive system, would be a beneficial move by the front office.

There will be decision to make in the coming weeks and while Steelers fans are stoked about the draft coming to the city, the organization will first be focused on free agency and how to improve the collective from that pool.

Steelers Are Expected To Spend Some Money Come The New League Year

With the NFL deciding to raise the cap maximum by over $20 million, many franchises will have a lot more leeway than originally anticipated. For Pittsburgh, that is absolutely the case and Khan will be able to spend cash however he pleases to. This could be by the way of bringing in fresh faces, or re-signing key contributors from 2025 that deserve more snaps in the Steel City. Regardless, it will be very clear what the draft plans are once free agency commences.

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