bobzewe'S MOCK DRAFT
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2026 NFL draft 49

  • bobzewe DRAFTING FOR THE
    Steelers
Draft Selections
Gennings Dunker Head Shot
PICK: 25 RND: 1 (PIT)
Gennings Dunker
OT Iowa
Elijah Sarratt Head Shot
PICK: 54 RND: 2 (PIT)
Elijah Sarratt
WR Indiana
Michael Taaffe Head Shot
PICK: 78 RND: 3 (PIT)
Michael Taaffe
S Texas
Julian Neal Head Shot
PICK: 84 RND: 3 (PIT)
Julian Neal
CB Arkansas
Malachi Fields Head Shot
PICK: 98 RND: 3 (PIT)
Malachi Fields
WR Notre Dame
D'Angelo Ponds Head Shot
PICK: 99 RND: 3 (PIT)
D'Angelo Ponds
CB Indiana
Diego Pavia Head Shot
PICK: 129 RND: 4 (PIT)
Diego Pavia
QB Vanderbilt
Tacario Davis Head Shot
PICK: 130 RND: 4 (PIT)
Tacario Davis
CB Washington
Keylan Rutledge Head Shot
PICK: 135 RND: 4 (PIT)
Keylan Rutledge
OG Georgia Tech
Logan Jones Head Shot
PICK: 139 RND: 4 (PIT)
Logan Jones
C Iowa
DJ Campbell Head Shot
PICK: 159 RND: 5 (PIT)
DJ Campbell
OG Texas
Aaron Graves Head Shot
PICK: 161 RND: 5 (PIT)
Aaron Graves
DL Iowa
Bryce Boettcher Head Shot
PICK: 169 RND: 5 (PIT)
Bryce Boettcher
LB Oregon
Lee Hunter Head Shot
PICK: 191 RND: 6 (PIT)
Lee Hunter
DT Texas Tech
Oscar Delp Head Shot
PICK: 211 RND: 6 (PIT)
Oscar Delp
TE Georgia
Isaiah Nwokobia Head Shot
PICK: 214 RND: 6 (PIT)
Isaiah Nwokobia
S SMU
Dane Key Head Shot
PICK: 215 RND: 6 (PIT)
Dane Key
WR Nebraska
Trey Zuhn III Head Shot
PICK: 224 RND: 7 (PIT)
Trey Zuhn III
OT Texas A&M
De'Zhaun Stribling Head Shot
PICK: 236 RND: 7 (PIT)
De'Zhaun Stribling
WR Ole Miss
Draft Picks Received
Gennings Dunker Head Shot
PICK: 25 RND: 1 (PHI)
Gennings Dunker
OT Iowa
Elijah Sarratt Head Shot
PICK: 54 RND: 2 (BUF)
Elijah Sarratt
WR Indiana
Malachi Fields Head Shot
PICK: 98 RND: 3 (PHI)
Malachi Fields
WR Notre Dame
Diego Pavia Head Shot
PICK: 129 RND: 4 (NE)
Diego Pavia
QB Vanderbilt
Tacario Davis Head Shot
PICK: 130 RND: 4 (NE)
Tacario Davis
CB Washington
Logan Jones Head Shot
PICK: 139 RND: 4 (SF)
Logan Jones
C Iowa
Aaron Graves Head Shot
PICK: 161 RND: 5 (BUF)
Aaron Graves
DL Iowa
Bryce Boettcher Head Shot
PICK: 169 RND: 5 (NE)
Bryce Boettcher
LB Oregon
Lee Hunter Head Shot
PICK: 191 RND: 6 (NE)
Lee Hunter
DT Texas Tech
Oscar Delp Head Shot
PICK: 211 RND: 6 (NE)
Oscar Delp
TE Georgia
No Pick Head Shot
PICK: RND: 3 (BUF)
NEXT YEAR (2027)
 
No Pick Head Shot
PICK: RND: 4 (BUF)
NEXT YEAR (2027)
 
No Pick Head Shot
PICK: RND: 4 (PHI)
NEXT YEAR (2027)
 
No Pick Head Shot
PICK: RND: 5 (BUF)
NEXT YEAR (2027)
 
No Pick Head Shot
PICK: RND: 7 (BUF)
NEXT YEAR (2027)
 
Draft Picks Traded
Makai Lemon Head Shot
PICK: 20 RND: 1 (BUF)
Makai Lemon
WR USC
Dillon Thieneman Head Shot
PICK: 52 RND: 2 (BUF)
Dillon Thieneman
S Oregon
Deion Burks Head Shot
PICK: 120 RND: 4 (SF)
Deion Burks
WR Oklahoma
Draft Grade — Steelers
Overall B
ValueB- NeedB- TradesB FutureB
A respectable, level-headed haul for the Steelers: B.

You can hear the double-takes from here. The Steelers took DJ Campbell at Round 5, Pick 20, roughly 33 spots before his name belonged.

However the rest shakes out, Pavia at that price is a win they earned. It is not that Rutledge is a bad player; it is that the Steelers had louder needs to answer first. Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.

Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.

Pick Analysis
Pick25 Rnd1 Gennings Dunker
No edge and no loss on Gennings Dunker in the Round 1 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Pick54 Rnd2 Elijah Sarratt
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Elijah Sarratt at slot 54 is the proof. It fills a real need, too.
Pick78 Rnd3 Michael Taaffe
Circle this one: Michael Taaffe at pick No. 78 is a fall that decides a draft. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Pick84 Rnd3 Julian Neal
Julian Neal at pick 84 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Pick98 Rnd3 Malachi Fields
Malachi Fields is a better player than No. 98 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Pick99 Rnd3 D'Angelo Ponds
A premium they did not need to pay, D'Angelo Ponds a notch or two before his time. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Pick129 Rnd4 Diego Pavia
They robbed the room for Diego Pavia here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Pick130 Rnd4 Tacario Davis
Fair-plus on Tacario Davis, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Pick135 Rnd4 Keylan Rutledge
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Keylan Rutledge adds an offensive lineman and leaves edge rusher and running back untouched.
Pick139 Rnd4 Logan Jones
A want over a need in slot 139: Logan Jones adds an offensive lineman while edge rusher and running back keeps waiting.
Pick159 Rnd5 DJ Campbell
A swing that ignored the value entirely, DJ Campbell well ahead of where he belonged. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Pick161 Rnd5 Aaron Graves
Aaron Graves at pick No. 161 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Pick169 Rnd5 Bryce Boettcher
Bryce Boettcher in the 169th pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Pick191 Rnd6 Lee Hunter
A wild overpay on Lee Hunter in No. 191, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Pick211 Rnd6 Oscar Delp
Oscar Delp in slot 211 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A need, and now a little less of one.
Pick214 Rnd6 Isaiah Nwokobia
Isaiah Nwokobia in the 214th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Pick215 Rnd6 Dane Key
A clean, defensible pick in pick No. 215 with a little surplus value in Dane Key. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Pick224 Rnd7 Trey Zuhn III
They paid a round early for Trey Zuhn III in Round 7, Pick 8, more than the board wanted. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Pick236 Rnd7 De'Zhaun Stribling
A reach for De'Zhaun Stribling in the 236th pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.