"Don't See It": Steelers Likely Not Making Big Move In First Round Of 2026 NFL Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers are gearing up for the 2026 NFL Draft right on the North Shore. Omar Khan and the front office have strategically accrued 12 draft picks. The team has been heavily speculated on in draft day trade-ups, like moving up and even down. The position groups that Pittsburgh could be targeting have been another huge topic of discussion, too. As of now, the direction for this draft seems to be up in the air, but Khan is known for being aggressive, and that could be something that comes into play on draft day. 

The franchise's abundance of picks gives it a ton of versatility. The Steelers have been rumored to trade a variety of veteran players, including some of their key stars. This noise has been quieted by Steelers insider Mark Kaboly on a recent episode of Kaboly + Mack. Kaboly offered fans a direct answer to some of the team's predicted draft-day moves. He was asked whether or not the Steelers would package picks with a veteran player to advance in the draft order. 

"No. I just don't see it," Kaboly said. "I think there are enough players in the top 21 that you don't need to do that. They meticulously went and figured out what they wanted on this roster, and now you're just dumping some [veteran player and/or draft picks] just because you might be able to move up in the draft to get a guy that might be productive three years from now."

Kaboly seemed to be directly responding to recent claims that the Steelers might want to move on from veteran staples like TJ Watt or Patrick Queen. Pittsburgh has added players in this 2026 offseason that fit the mold of the direction that it wants to go moving forward. The Steelers would like to keep a lot of their veteran presence while getting younger. 

The draft seems to be deep at the multiple positions that the organization would want to acquire, like wide receiver, offensive line, and defensive back. New Head Coach Mike McCarthy seems to want this team to have a solid mixture of youth and vets, especially based on his coaching hires. 

That being said, the franchise knows that it needs to get younger, but trading cornerstones isn't the right move. The team knows it can be competitive, and moving on from guys that helped the Steelers win the AFC North in 2025 wouldn't be the right move. 

The Steelers keeping their regular-season success going requires them to maintain the core that they have spent years growing. As Kaboly said, throwing away an established player for someone who might be good in a few years doesn't help you win now.  

The direction they're going in is giving it another go. Trying to get back into the playoffs with a roster that made improvements on its weak points from 2025. Trading away some of those players for future capital isn't in the Steelers' recipe for success, as they clearly don't have an interest in a full rebuild based on their roster construction. 

Steelers Need Their Veterans To Shine

The reason for all the trade rumors: the Steelers vets, like the ones aforementioned, didn't have their greatest seasons in 2025. Many fans and pundits are fearful that the all-time franchise great, Watt, is potentially going to regress. His play in 2025 was below his standard. It was obvious that towards the end of the season, the freak accident he suffered definitely affected his numbers. He missed multiple games, so that needs to be taken into account. 

However, even when he was healthy, he didn't always seem the same. 2026 is a big year for him to prove he can still be the game wrecker that he has been his whole career. Another play that will have a "prove it" year is Queen. 

Queen had a down year in 2025 and was often exploited by opposing offenses. He'll need to continue his development as a green dot linebacker and hope to turn it around in 2026. The Steelers' success could be determined by key veteran turnarounds. 

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