3 shocking but possible scenarios that could happen to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft
Here are 3 scenarios that would create an immediate shock factor, but also have at least a slight chance of happening to the Pittsburgh Steelers when night one of the NFL Draft begins.
The 2026 NFL Draft is different for a lot of reasons. Some of them are felt throughout the league when talking about the quarterback class, the lack of blue chip prospects, and the shallow nature of the draft pool.
But some are tied to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The host city of the draft, Pittsburgh, has a new head coach, no surefire starting quarterback, a hole at left tackle, and 12 draft picks when the weekend starts. So it’s entirely plausible that things get a little wonky when Thursday night rolls around, and I have prepared three scenarios that would represent that.
Aaron Rodgers announces his return just before the Steelers are on the clock
As someone who will be covering the draft in Pittsburgh, I certainly hope that this scenario doesn’t happen, but there is a lot of buzz that Rodgers could be waiting to announce his return for the start of the NFL Draft, with Pittsburgh being the host city and all of the NFL world watching.
That’s a little conspiratorial for my taste, but it should be noted that Art Rooney has long said that an answer from Rodgers was expected before the draft, and in two appearances with the media this week, Mike McCarthy has made it clear that Rodgers and the Steelers remain in touch.
So just keep an eye out.
The Steelers use their first-round pick on Ty Simpson
To this point, there has been zero, and I mean zero inclination that the Steelers will draft Ty Simpson in the first round. They did not host him on a visit; not one insider nor ourselves here at A to Z Sports have heard a buzz about the Steelers and Simpson, and Rooney told the media last week that he doesn’t see the Steelers taking a quarterback in round one.
Unless this was all a facade to throw the scent of their love for the player, or if they get cold feet with no answer from Rodgers, the Steelers may make the pick, but man, would it be shocking.
Steelers trade pass rusher Alex Highsmith
There is growing buzz that the Steelers could be looking to offload one of their pass rushers, with Alex Highsmith’s name as the presumptive favorite in said scenario. I still think that would be a little rich for the Steelers, but if they were to do it, doing it on night one in an effort to attain more day two, or even late round one capital would be paramount.
Shocking, but important, if that’s the route the Steelers go.