The opinions found in Asked and Answered do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
Let's get to it:
TERRY HALUPA FROM AIKEN, SC: Rating the 2026 Draft Class in my opinion is a waste of time. It takes 2-3 years before we will know if the Steelers picked well. Can we get your opinion on the 2023 or 2024 Draft classes? Which of their picks ended up being the correct ones in your opinion?
ANSWER: Since you gave me a choice, I'll offer my opinion on the Steelers 2023 NFL Draft Class, because those are players who have been in the league long enough to be getting close to their second contracts. The Steelers made 7 picks in that draft – OT Broderick Jones, CB Joey Porter Jr., DT Keeanu Benton, TE Darnell Washington, OLB Nick Herbig, CB Cory Trice Jr., and OL Spencer Anderson. During the picking over that weekend, General Manager Omar Khan did some maneuvering up and down in some rounds to get the players he wanted, and things worked out well. Jones and Trice have had some injury issues, and their status with the team moving forward is uncertain based on health, but I believe the Steelers will be interested in negotiating second contracts with Porter, Benton, Washington, Herbig, and Anderson, because all of them are important to the team's future in different ways. Porter in particular has developed into one of the top players at a very difficult and important position. Whether all of those players agree to second contracts with the team will be determined, but the fact one draft class contains that many "hits" makes it a successful one in my mind.
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SAM MIKHAIL FROM BETHESDA, MD: I am rooting for Eli Heidenreich from the Naval Academy to make the team. It got me thinking: Have the Steelers ever before drafted a player from any of the service academies? If so, who and how did their careers play out?
ANSWER: With their first-round pick in the 1946 NFL Draft (third overall), the Steelers selected FB Doc Blanchard. Felix "Doc" Blanchard was West Point's "Mr. Inside" and paired with Glenn Davis (Mr. Outside) to form one of the most potent and famous running back tandems in college football history. Blanchard won the Heisman Trophy in 1945 and was an integral part of 3 National Championship teams, but he passed on professional football for a distinguished career in the Air Force. He flew 113 combat missions in the Vietnam War and retired from the Air Force as a colonel. Blanchard was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959.
MERLIN BOESCH FROM KARLSRUHE, DEUTSCHLAND: The goal for the QB room is clear: get Aaron Rodgers as the starter. What I don't understand, though, is the plan for depth. Start the season with four QBs on the roster? Start the season with two backup QBs who haven't played a single snap in the NFL? Cut a drafted QB? What's the most likely scenario?
ANSWER: I don't believe Coach Mike McCarthy has any idea at this point what the depth chart will look like at quarterback for the start of the 2026 regular season. And really, that's the way it should be as we sit here at the beginning of May. All of those scenarios you list should only be determined through competition, and that really doesn't start in earnest until training camp opens in late July.
KEN MAULDIN FROM CLYDE, TX: At the moment as I type this we only have Chris Boswell as our kicker on the 90-man roster. I know they will bring in someone to share kicks in camp and during the preseason. I don't remember the guy's name from training camp last year, but he was fantastic during the preseason. Will he be invited back? Is he playing somewhere?
ANSWER: The name of that kicker is Ben Sauls, and he was signed by the Steelers as an undrafted rookie from Pitt. He was waived coming out of the preseason, and in November 2025, Sauls signed with the New York Giants. He currently is under contract to the Giants through the 2026 season after which time he will become an exclusive rights free agent.
EDSON NUNES JR. FROM SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL: I believe the team drafted good players in positions of need: WR Germie Bernard, G Gennings Dunker; S Robert Spears-Jennings, and RB/WR Eli Heidenreich all seem to be very good. Two questions: Was there any position you thought we should have drafted, or any particular player you would have liked? What was your favorite Steelers' pick?
ANSWER: I thought the Steelers would address the depth on their defensive line before late in Day 3. There are a lot of ways to answer a question about my "favorite pick," but as an answer to that at this time I'm going to point to Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings, who came to the team in the seventh round (224th overall). Based on things I had read about him, I saw him as a good value at that point in the draft, and he plays a position the team needed to address at some point during the weekend. The other thing I like about him is that he will be a contributor on special teams early in his career, which is the kind of thing that can buy time for a young guy to improve the skills he will need to contribute as a position player.
DAVE MEYERS FROM FREDERICK, MD: Were any of Pittsburgh's 30 pre-draft visitors actually selected? I don't pay much attention to who is interviewed since I don't know one from the other. I just start rooting for them once they join the Steelers.
ANSWER: Two of the Steelers 10 draft picks were brought in by the team for top-30 visits – WR Germie Bernard (second round, 47th overall), and QB Drew Allar (third round, 76th overall).
MARK MANTICK FROM PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ: I was looking at a list of undrafted free agent signings. Some teams signed 2 or 3 players, and others literally signed dozens. Can you explain the disparity? Is there a limit to the number of players a team can take into training camp?
ANSWER: The disparity in the number of undrafted rookies a team signs usually is directly tied to the number of players on their roster. During the offseason, NFL rosters are capped at 90 players. As of this writing, the Steelers made 10 picks during the draft and agreed to terms with 6 undrafted rookies, and those additions have the team with 87 players on the roster. Teams often like to have a little wiggle room in case they find someone they like among the guys attending rookie minicamp on a try-out basis, but I'm fairly certain the roster will be at 90 once it's time to report to Saint Vincent College for training camp.
STEFAN PISOCKI FROM WILMINGTON, DE: With the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh breaking attendance records, is there an increased chance that the event will take place there again in the near future?
ANSWER: I don't know about "in the near future," but the NFL could become interested in returning an event such as the draft to a site where it was a success. And from all reports, the event in Pittsburgh was a success. I imagine returning to a previous site also might depend upon how many other cities are interested in hosting the event for the first time and are able to submit attractive bids.
SCOTT MARKSMAN FROM NEW YORK, NY: It appears that Makai Lemon is a bit of a quirky head case. With all of his talent, do you think we dodged a bullet by not drafting him?
ANSWER: Full disclosure – I knew very little about USC WR Makai Lemon aside from what I read contained in online scouting reports on NFL.com. And this is what NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein wrote about Lemon for NFL.com:
"High-skill, high-volume slot receiver with average size but extraordinary ball skills. Lemon has room for refinement, but not much. He's intelligent, confident, and polished with the ability to make plays on all three levels. Tempo-driven route-runner who misdirects man coverage and separates out of turns but is fairly average after the catch. Quicker than fast, featuring early acceleration to open seam throws but flashes late burst when needed. More play strength is needed for NFL press and he needs to avoid rushing through multi-breaking routes. He's an exceptional ball-tracker with excellent catch timing and few focus drops. He wins more combat catches than he loses. Lemon is a plug-and-play, quarterback-friendly talent with first-round value and Pro Bowl upside."
But I also saw his media session at the Scouting Combine online, and then I watched his interview with Laura Rutledge live after he was selected by the Eagles. Admittedly, that made me happy he didn't end up in Pittsburgh.
LUKE HUNT FROM SNOW CAMP, NC: I have something to get off my chest to the fans who say this is a bad draft for the Steelers. Just because a team drafts the players it needs instead of the ones you want doesn't make it a "bad draft." Remember these young men have not played yet in the NFL. Some of the players drafted before them may not be playing in the NFL three years from now. Not all drafts will produce the same as the 1974 Steelers draft/undrafted class (5 Hall of Fame players).
ANSWER: You're right about that.
MARK PRICE FROM ARLINGTON, OH: My wife and I were able to attend the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh. WOW! The Pittsburgh Steelers, City of Pittsburgh, and the NFL – thank you! What a great time!
ANSWER: Happy to hear that you enjoyed yourselves.
