Steelers' Potential First-Round Pick Gets Surprising Disapproval

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be on the clock at pick number 21 in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, which is being hosted in the Steel City. The team has made a flurry of offseason acquisitions beforehand, whether it be via trade or through free agency, to fill any voids on their roster prior to the event. While no one truly knows what position the team will target in the first round, speculation has picked up over recent weeks. 

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren has been rumored as a potential first-round pick for Pittsburgh, However, NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein gave a strong disapproval of this pick. On the Heed the Call NFL Podcast on Monday, Zierlein discussed how he does not see this being a realistic fit for the organization at 21 overall. The team appears to have bigger needs than safety, such as wide receiver and offensive line. One of their offseason moves was trading for wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., however this year's wide receiver class is deep and the team needs to add to their depth at the position.

"Yeah, McNeil-Warren's too early," Zierlein said. "That's an X, and they're gonna probably draft offensive line, or trade back."

Zierlein made this statement when Marc Sessler revealed his mock draft pick of McNeil-Warren to Pittsburgh at 21 overall in the first round. Following the departure of offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo in free agency to the Arizona Cardinals, on top of the news Monday that Broderick Jones suffered a setback in his recovery from an injured neck, Zierlein's comments make plenty of sense. 

McNeil-Warren played four years in college all with the Toledo Rockets. In his senior season in 2025, he had 77 total tackles and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He is a 6-foot-3 safety who has been picking up some momentum in terms of his draft stock, but selecting him at 21 overall does not seem to fit what the Steelers truly need in the draft early on. The Steelers also hold the most picks of any NFL team with 12 overall, three of those in the third round, so they could pivot to safety in the later rounds of the event.

Among their flurry of offseason acquisitions, Pittsburgh also brought in safety Jaquan Brisker. Brisker was a teammate of cornerback Joey Porter Jr. during their time with the Penn State Nittany Lions in college. It is also a homecoming for Brisker, who played at Pittsburgh-area Gateway High School. What further strengthens the case to not select McNeil-Warren is the fact that safety DeShon Elliott is expected to be back with the team in 2026 fully healthy and was reportedly close to returning for the first-round playoff game in January against the Houston Texans.

Steelers' Focus Should Be On Revitalizing The Offense

Many pundits are saying the Black and Gold should be focused on truly bolstering their offense in the draft in hopes to revitalize it in the 2026 season. They ranked 25th overall in the NFL in total offense in 2025, as well as in the bottom third of the league in passing and rushing offense. 

DK Metcalf's 850 receiving yards led the team, but was his lowest output in that category in his entire career thus far. The trade for Pittman is a start to get help for Metcalf, but beyond them, the team is thin at the position. 

The team desperately needs to find some explosion on offense and guys that can deliver splash plays. Those types of players can be found in the draft, especially with the draft capital the team holds. In the aforementioned playoff game against Houston, Pittsburgh's offense struggled mightily, as they put up just six points. They need to continue to find ways to improve that unit from last year in hopes to ending a nine-year playoff losing skid.

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