Steelers' Late-Round Pick Emerging As Surprise Preseason Roster Candidate

The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking ahead at a very big season to begin the Mike McCarthy era. While rebuilding the offense, there are a look of familiar faces for new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham to work with. Those two coaches have a lot to work with to get the team a playoff victory. One area that the collective has really built a surplus over the years in is its defensive line. 

There is a great core for the new staff to work with and it ranges all over the line of scrimmage. From edge rusher to the interior, the Steelers are very deep, which is very important to having a strong defense. It all starts in the trenches and Pittsburgh has established one of the deepest rooms. After last spring's draft, the organization found another interior lineman that didn't seem like a potential piece for 2026 at first, but suddenly is emerging as a candidate to make the roster.

That is Gabriel Rubio, the 210th overall pick out of Notre Dame. With key players like Cam Heyward and Derrick Harmon leading the mix up the middle, there aren't many opportunities for young guys to get significant playing time. That includes both practice reps and in-game snaps, which makes it difficult to develop and prove oneself to the coaching staff.

With limited action, Rubio is reportedly making a strong case to make the roster, according to Steelers reporter Jim Wexell as he spoke on the Steel City Insider Podcast. At first, he thought Rubio was a practice squad candidate entering training camp, but suddenly, Pittsburgh may be contemplating keeping him on the 53-man roster.

"Gabriel Rubio is showing some stuff," Wexell said. "I thought he was absolutely cast to the practice squad. If he continues to improve and shows the reason why Notre Dame recruited him, this preseason somebody may pick him up."

This strong showing from Rubio in camp has all eyes on him and the Steelers may not be the only team that noticed. Wexell noted that somebody may pick him up if he finds his way off the 53-man roster. If Pittsburgh cuts him, he's exposed to the available batch of players for anyone to try to and grab, which is why this storyline is starting to gain some attention ahead of the first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers.

There will be more clarity on his status following his first game action on Thursday night. Once he gives a sample of what he can bring to the franchise in a real game, then the Steelers can have a more educated decision on what to do with him. Him breaking out at camp makes it likely that if the team does end up cutting him, he'll get picked up pretty quickly by another team dealing with injuries on their defensive line or one that needs more depth. 

Losing him when he's showing signs of developing quickly would sting, especially with a guy like Heyward getting closer to retirement. The staff will need as many young options as they can get as they will have big shoes to fill eventually. While Pittsburgh still has him, they have other strong options way ahead of Rubio on the depth chart. Harmon is a clear one, along with Keeanu Benton, but Benton's contract situation also creates the need to have more options for the future. 

Perhaps that leads to the Steelers drafting another defensive lineman early in the draft again. They have done that a lot in recent years and this uncertainty may force them to do that.

Steelers' Future Defensive Line Has Uncertainty With Heyward And Benton

Pittsburgh will have a big decision approaching with figuring out the future of its defensive line. Benton especially may not be around in 2027, so the Steelers are going to need to make sure that someone like Rubio stays around if he is projecting to be better than initially expected.

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