The Pittsburgh Steelers have undergone some major changes for the first time in a long time. Former head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down from his role after the Steelers were eliminated in the Wild Card Round of the postseason, and the organization then hired Mike McCarthy after a thorough coaching search. Nearly the entire coaching staff was overturned as well, which means things are certainly being done differently now. The Steelers will have new schemes and tendencies on Sundays, but it is also important to note the differences in how this coaching staff goes about the offseason, which could affect the way the organization goes about the 2026 NFL Draft.
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Steelers Team President and Owner Art Rooney II with Head Coach Mike McCarthy at his introductory press conference in 2026.
The Steelers' leadership structure is still the same with Team President and Owner Art Rooney II, General Manager Omar Khan, and Assistant General Manager Andy Weidl. Weidl handles a lot of the scouting prior to the draft, and he is the one that is putting together the team's big board. This time around it is hard to tell what the Steelers plan to do as there are a few positions that could be addressed, but there are no pressing needs, especially with the quarterback class being fairly weak. Beat writer Brian Batko was asked about the draft during a mailbag for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and he shared that the new coaching staff has made things difficult.
"They never want to offer up that info, for obvious competitive advantage reasons, but it's even harder to get a read on them this year because their pre-draft process has been so different from years past," Batko wrote. "Not as much Pro Day presence, the visits are coming in slowly, etc."
Tomlin used to make an effort to go to as many Pro Days as possible, while McCarthy has only been to two or three throughout the pre-draft process. It will be interesting to see how that correlates when it comes to the players that the Steelers are actually drafting. Most teams have some sort of correlation in the fact that their higher picks are usually guys from Pro Days that have been attended or guys that have come in for top-30 visits, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out for McCarthy's staff.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers' new head coach Mike McCarthy (middle) takes a picture with Team Owner Art Rooney II (left) and General Manager Omar Khan (right).
It is also hard to say how much say McCarthy is going to have in this situation. Tomlin had been with the team for so long that he had a ton of organizational power as a head coach, but this is McCarthy's first year in the role with Pittsburgh. As an offensive-minded coach, it should be expected that the Steelers would probably go after the wide receiver position or at least add some sort of weapon to that side of the ball.
After this first offseason under McCarthy is out of the way it should be easier to predict things moving forward, but as of right now there is no telling what Pittsburgh might do.
AP
Steelers' Mike McCarthy speaks to the media during the 2026 offseason at the annual league meetings in Arizona.
Steelers Have To Focus On Offense
While pondering what the Steelers might do at the top of the 2026 NFL Draft, it is important to remember that one of the big reasons that McCarthy was hired was to fix the quarterback position. A long-term solution might not come in 2026, but the plan is to find that player sometime in the next couple of years. Adding to the offense to eventually help that quarterback is going to be important, and that starts in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. This could mean adding a wide receiver, a tight end like Kenyon Sadiq, or fixing the left side of the offensive line. No matter what, fixing quarterback is the priority, and the pick will more than likely reflect that.
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