The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most draft capital of anyone in the NFL with 12 overall picks in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. While they may not use all of them, the team has a desperate need to do something they have not in the draft in a long while: hit a home run. Insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provided some alarming recent history around the selections the team has made in the draft of late. Given this history, General Manager Omar Khan will need to move strategically when the team is on the clock come April 23.
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Steelers General Manager Omar Khan stands in front of the press as he speaks and answers questions during the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, IN.
The most notable part of this failure by the organization is that it comes on the offensive side of the ball. Rather than being able to draft and develop playmakers, they have had to look outside of that to bring in impactful offensive talent. Most notably, this has come via free agency or trade, and this was recently proven again by their acquisition of Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.
"The Steelers haven’t drafted a dynamic offensive player in four years and have had to use trades or free agency to add difference-makers," Dulac wrote. "When they previously made attempts to find them in the NFL Draft, they later determined those players, Chase Claypool and George Pickens, to be more troublesome than impactful. They quickly moved on from them."
The tough and concerning truth in this is that the results have shown to support Dulac's comments. In 2025, Pittsburgh ranked 25th in the entire league in total offense, with just 305.6 yards per game. What is even more concerning, is they were 22nd in passing offense, as well as 26th in rushing offense. Not only does that expose their lack of home run draft picks, but that type of offensive production can also limit how effective a defense can be when their offense isn't playing complementary football.
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Steelers star WR DK Metcalf walking off the field frustrated during a game at the Detroit Lions in 2025.
Wide receiver DK Metcalf had his worst season in his seven-year NFL career statistically. While it is worth noting he served a two-game suspension due to an altercation with a fan during a game against the Detroit Lions, it was visibly clear that Metcalf at times was frustrated on the field in 2025. Now Metcalf has a true running mate in Pittman, but there is still questionable depth behind the two. Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek remain on the roster, but the duo has combined for just 21 receptions in two seasons.
"On top of that, they have drafted just one Pro Bowl player [Diontae Johnson] in the past eight years — only to trade him a couple years later, Dulac continued. "Mike McCarthy has a chance to change all that this week."
If the Steelers are going to improve, they'll need to start hitting during the draft when it comes to offensive playmakers. This is where new head coach Mike McCarthy can make his mark.
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McCarthy and Khan now have a massive opportunity to capitalize on with the upcoming draft. While they do not necessarily need a wide receiver that can come in and make an immediate impact, they do need to find the talent that can at least develop into that type of player. The team most likely will not draft a quarterback with their top picks, and with the depth of this year's wide receiver class, they have a big chance to finally end their drought of drafting a high-potential playmaker they don't end up hanging on to.
Khan has been highly praised for his 2026 offseason thus far. However, as an organization, you must also have the ability to identify talent, develop it, and keep it around to establish long-term success. While free agents can help round out your roster, this type of draft capital puts the pressure on adding a couple of strong NFL talents that contribute big in Pittsburgh for years to come.
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Steelers' new head coach Mike McCarthy and General Manager Omar Khan during the 2026 offseason.
While the organization in the past has seen players like the aforementioned George Pickens, as well as Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell cause issues detrimental to the team, they have done better of late controlling those situations. Khan will not only need to be strategic in the draft with identifying talent on the field, but he will also need to find offensive contributors that aren't issues off of it either.
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