Steelers May Have A New Draft Strategy With Mike McCarthy Leading The Team

With the NFL Draft being just a little over a week away, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been bringing in players for top-30 visits. Most recently, they brought in Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green, Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano, and Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard. Only Fano in that group is a projected first-round pick, which follows the recent trend of the team's top-30 visits. A lot of these meetings recently have been with guys who aren't projected first-round picks however, which is very unusual for the Steelers. With Mike McCarthy now being the head coach, we may be seeing a glimpse of the organization's new draft strategy. 

Under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers didn't normally hide who they were interested in. They would meet with their first-round pick multiple times to make sure they were the guy they wanted. Now, under McCarthy, there seems to be a lot of smokescreens going on. McCarthy and Omar Khan have been all over the place with their top-30 visits, leaving other teams and Steeler Nation unsure of which positions they will target come April 23rd. A Steelers insider recently offered insight into a potential shift in strategy with McCarthy. 

Ray Fittipaldo recently appeared on the North Shore Drive podcast, where he and host Christopher Carter talked about the 2026 NFL Draft. Carter notes that their recent top-30 visits are hard to read, making it difficult to tell which direction they will go in the first round. Fittipaldo gave a different insight on the matter, believing McCarthy has a different strategy altogether -- using these opportunities to meet players they didn't get to meet at the NFL Combine.  

"Yeah, listen, I think the first thing we have to talk about is maybe Mike McCarthy has a different method for how he handles these top-30 visits right," Fittipaldo suggested. "I mean, it could be, you know, you want to bring in some different guys you didn't get the chance to meet at the combine. Whereas I think with Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin all those years, you know, they were bringing those guys in for a second time to really understand what they were all about, you know, what made them tick. They were doing that one final assignment on their homework to make sure they had their guy."

Khan has already begun changing the strategy for the players they target, drafting much more polished prospects such as Troy Fautanu and Derrick Harmon in the first round, rather than project players like Broderick Jones and Kenny Pickett. Now, it also seems the way they go about targeting these players is changing. 

The 2026 NFL Draft will be Khan and McCarthy's first draft together and general manager and head coach, respectively. Only time will tell how effective this new strategy is. 

Steelers' New Draft Strategy Will Throw Off Other Teams

The franchise has brought in eight different positions for visits. Not all of these players are projected as first-round picks as mentioned, but some are big names. Players like Makai Lemon, Denzel Boston, and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren are likely to be picked in Round 1. All three of those players are in positions of need on the Steelers' roster. These pre-draft meetings are where the Steelers show their hand. Now, that may no longer be the case.  

Carson Beck, Markel Bell, and Cole Payton are just a few more of the non-projected first-round picks to receive top-30 visits from the Steelers. While they are most likely not going to pick any of those guys in the first or even second round, it raises questions for fans and other teams. What is truly the Steelers' plan for the 2026 draft? That question will be answered in just a few short days. 

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