Biggest Winners, Losers of Steelers' 2026 NFL Draft
The Pittsburgh Steelers, after making 10 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, have one of the biggest rookie classes across the league.
As a result, the roles of several veterans across the Steelers' roster are now in question. On the flip side, a number of players who would have been in trouble of losing snaps if the team went in a different direction in the draft should now feel more secure heading into the upcoming season.
With that, here are three winners and three losers for Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the draft.
Winner: Patrick Queen
Inside linebacker was consistently touted as a top position of need for the Steelers entering the draft, yet they did not address it with any of their picks.
Queen has stood on uneven footing this offseason following an inconsistent and rather poor showing in 2025, as he was brought up as a potential cut candidate before receiving his $2.5 million roster bonus while also finding himself at the center of trade talks with the Dallas Cowboys at the beginning of the legal tampering period.
With the Cowboys instead acquiring Dee Winters from the San Francisco 49ers during the draft while Pittsburgh didn't bring in any rookies to challenge him or anyone else in the linebacker room for that matter, Queen is slated to man the middle of the Steelers' defense for a third-straight year as he enters the final season of a $41 million deal that he signed in March 2024.
Losers: Spencer Anderson/Brock Hoffman
After neglecting to sign one of the top guards on the free agent market, instead bringing in Hoffman on a one-year deal worth $2.5 million, it appeared as though a competition between him and Spencer Anderson at left guard was in line for the 2026 season.
After taking right tackle Max Iheanachor in the first round at No. 21 overall, however, the Steelers doubled up on the offensive line by trading up from No. 99 to No. 96 at the end of the third round to snag Iowa's Gennings Dunker.
A tackle for the Hawkeyes, Dunker will move to guard for Pittsburgh and should challenge Anderson and Hoffman for the left guard job right off the bat.
It remains to be seen how Dunker's move to the position plays out, but given his vast collegiate experience coupled with his strength and technique, he could realistically beat out the two veterans and be the starter by the time Week 1 rolls around.
Winner: Steelers QBs
No matter who's under center in 2026 for the Steelers, with Aaron Rodgers still remaining the favorite, the infusion of young talent at the skill positions will make their job easier.
Even after missing out on Makai Lemon by one pick in the first round after the Philadelphia Eagles traded up for him, Pittsburgh landed one of the more well-rounded players at the position in the entire class in Alabama's Germie Bernard after moving up from No. 53 to No. 47 in the second round.
Bernard might not have blazing speed and can struggle in contested catch situations at times, but he profiles as a high-end No. 2 receiver who should be a safety blanket and true playmaker within the Steelers' offense for years to come.
Pittsburgh also selected Iowa's Kaden Wetjen in the fourth round at No. 121 overall, and while he's a far more advanced and talented return man than he is a receiver, the 24-year-old can still make some things happen with the ball in his hands on offense if given the opportunity on jet sweeps or bubble screens.
Indiana tight end/fullback Riley Nowakowski, a fifth-rounder, is more of a blocking specialist than he is a threat as a receiver, but he did have 387 yards through the air on a national title-winning squad this past year, so perhaps there's some sort of upside there.
Navy's Eli Heidenreich, a Pittsburgh native and the team's final pick of the draft in the seventh round, has already generated some hype and should be a fun Swiss Army knife in Mike McCarthy's offense who can make plays either out of the backfield or in the slot at receiver.
Whether it's Rodgers, Will Howard or even Drew Allar, the Steelers have built a rather impressive foundation around their signal callers.
Loser: Roman Wilson
On the flip side, Wilson has the most to lose from the addition of Pittsburgh's draft picks on offense.
The 2024 third-rounder only played five snaps as a rookie after suffering ankle and hamstring injuries, and though he played in 13 games last season, he finished with just 166 yards on 12 catches.
Wilson needed a clean slate of sorts, and he got that with the team's hire of McCarthy, but he doesn't have much of a path towards legitimate playing time now that Bernard in particular is ahead of him on the depth chart.
Winners: Jaquan Brisker/DeShon Elliott
Brisker and Elliott were never really in any danger of losing their statuses as starters at safety regardless of who Pittsburgh brought in at the position in the draft, though a Day 2 pick could've eaten into their workloads.
Because the team's only move there was selecting Robert Spears-Jennings in the seventh round, however, both players' roles should remain unchanged from where they previously stood.
Jalen Ramsey will likely continue to see some time at safety after moving to the position in Week 9 of the 2025 season, but Brisker and Elliott will otherwise hold down the fort there without
Loser: Logan Lee
Lee was more or less on the Steelers' roster bubble before the draft, but the team's selection of Notre Dame defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio in the sixth round may have put his job in jeopardy.
Rubio wasn't really on anyone's radar before Pittsburgh took him at No. 210 overall. Though he's not necessarily a lock to make the 53-man roster, he might have the upper-hand over Lee to fill a role as a rotational run defender at the bottom of the team's depth chart.
Lee, a former sixth-round pick himself in 2024, only logged 47 defensive snaps in 2025 after missing his entire rookie season due to a calf injury, and now he'll have to battle it out with Rubio for a roster spot.
Make sure to bookmark Steelers On SI, and find our podcast All Steelers Talk on YouTubeor anywhere you listen!
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/steelers/onsi as Biggest Winners, Losers of Steelers' 2026 NFL Draft.
Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 5:00 AM.