Let’s Talk Steelers: Should Pit Make All 12 Picks?

The Steelers have 12 picks in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh — that’s one for every round with an additional five selections. Needless to say, the Steelers will be on the clock plenty in front of a home crowd in April.

That said, the overwhelming sentiment has been that 12 picks are just too many to make in one draft. There aren’t that many roster spots to fill, especially when the team can use some of the extra capital to trade up or into 2027.

But let’s take a closer look.

Could the Steelers really use all 12 draft picks?

I took a look at the Steelers’ current listed roster — you can check for yourself here — and listed all the players I felt were near-guarantees to make the team’s 2026 53-man roster barring injuries or trades:

• QB (3): [Spot likely reserved for Aaron Rodgers], Mason Rudolph, Will Howard
• RB (3): Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, Kaleb Johnson
• WR (4): DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr., Roman Wilson, Ben Skowronek 
• TE (2): Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington 
• IOL (3): Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, Spencer Anderson 
• OT (3): Broderick Jones (might start season on injured reserve), Dylan Cook, Troy Fautanu, 
• DL (5): Cam Heyward, Derrick Harmon, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Keeanu Benton, Yahya Black
• EDGE (4): TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Jack Sawyer
• ILB (5) : Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Malik Harrison, Cole Holcomb, Carson Bruener
• CB (5): Joey Porter Jr., Jamel Dean, Jalen Ramsey, Brandin Echols, Asante Samuel Jr. 
• S (3): DeShon Elliott, Jaquan Brisker, Darnell Savage (not announced yet)
• K (1): Chris Boswell
• P (1): Cam Johnston
• LS (1): Christian Kuntz

To recap, that’s just 18 names on offense, 22 on defense, and three on special teams, making for a grand total of 42 to 43 spots, depending on whether or not you think Broderick Jones is in contention for a Week 1 roster spot. That leaves 10 to 11 spots remaining for the 53-man roster.

I also made short list of priority bubble players. I couldn’t in good faith call them near-locks, but all four are strong maybes: OT Jack Driscoll, DL Esezi Otomewo, CB Cory Trice Jr., and S Sebastian Castro. There are certainly plenty more roster contenders on the team right now, but no one who wouldn’t be competing with a mid- to late-round rookie for a spot.

Some more free agent signings could certainly be coming, and maybe the Steelers are higher on past draft picks such as Donte Kent and Logan Lee than I am, but injuries are a near-guarantee as well. Ultimately, we’re looking at around 10 roster spots that will almost certainly be up in the air come draft day.

That’s to say, suddenly the 12 picks don’t seem quite as overkill.

The pick distribution is also worth bringing up, however. The Steelers have five picks in the top 100, and I’d hope they use every one to give the roster a major boost with good players on rookie contracts.

But another four picks come in rounds six and seven — not exactly draft slots you count on to fill out a 53-man roster. That said, teams draft to fill their practice squads. In my latest mock draft, I had the Steelers drafting both an outside linebacker and a running back late as insurance for potential injuries on the loaded depth charts at each position.

Day 3 picks are disposable enough that I’d be a fan of the Steelers burning some to maneuver a few spots here and there to nab a player the front office likes. But the team has more open spots than it may seem at first glance entering the 2026 season, and the draft can be a numbers game where more picks mean more potential hits.

Especially in the first five rounds, Pittsburgh should use most of its picks in the upcoming draft. Even using all 12 shouldn’t be out of the question.

Do you think the Steelers should use all 12 picks in the upcoming NFL Draft? Join the BTSC community and let us know in the comments!