Steelers Reject NFL’s #2 QB Prospect—Say Their 6th-Round Pick Is ‘Better Than Ty Simpson’

Eight days before the 2026 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers have made their position seem loud and clear: they are unlikely to spend a first-round pick on a quarterback. NFL analyst Adam Schein went further, declaring “under no circumstance” should Pittsburgh draft a QB in round one and stating flatly that sixth-round pick Will Howard “is better than Ty Simpson.” Simpson is widely viewed as one of the top quarterback prospects in this class. Howard was selected 185th overall last year. That’s a 149-pick gap the Steelers and at least some analysts believe might run the wrong direction. The draft board says one thing. Pittsburgh’s film room and its preferred outside voices say another.

The Scar Tissue Behind the Strategy

This caution has a name: Kenny Pickett. Pittsburgh’s first-round QB investment from the early 2020s busted badly, and Devin Bush’s first-round flame-out compounded the damage. Those misses rewired the front office. Pittsburgh insiders such as Gerry Dulac have reported the Steelers have “little if any intention of taking a quarterback with their top pick” and that only Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza clearly merits first-round consideration. The organization has formally met with multiple quarterbacks during the pre-draft process, including Simpson, and so far has shown no indication it plans to prioritize one at 21 overall. Evaluation followed by non-selection—that potential sequence is what has the rest of the league paying attention.

Your Grocery Bill Has a Draft Equivalent

Simpson threw for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions for Alabama in 2025, starting all 15 games. On paper, that’s a franchise quarterback profile. But the Steelers and some evaluators have looked deeper. Advanced charting has raised questions about how Simpson handles pressure and sacks, especially given the quality of protection he enjoyed at Alabama, and those details don’t pop off the stat sheet the way 28 touchdowns do. He played behind one of the better left tackles in college football. Those numbers should have been elite. They weren’t. For Steelers fans expecting a shiny first-round QB, the front office just handed them a spreadsheet instead.

Twelve Picks, Zero Panic

Pittsburgh holds a large stash of picks in the 2026 draft, giving it flexibility on both sides of the ball. ESPN and other outlets list the Steelers’ top three needs as wide receiver, interior offensive line, and safety—not quarterback. Multiple analysts, including Adam Schefter, have predicted a run on offensive linemen between picks 15 and 25, putting the Steelers’ 21st selection directly in the crush zone. The front office isn’t dodging quarterback out of laziness. It’s deploying capital across documented roster holes while the rest of the league debates how much to pay at the game’s most expensive position. That’s a business decision dressed as a football one.

The Ripple Simpson Doesn’t See Coming

When the team picking 21st is widely expected to pass on one of the class’s top quarterbacks, every team drafting after them recalibrates. Simpson’s projected contract value shifts if he slides from the top of the round toward the middle or back half of it. That’s potentially millions in guaranteed money evaporating because one organization’s evaluation contradicted consensus. Other franchises watching Pittsburgh’s signal may hesitate on early-round QB investments entirely. One team’s discipline can help reprice the entire quarterback market for this class. And ESPN and others already describe the 2026 QB group as relatively weak overall.

The Machine Behind Every Ripple

Here’s the mechanism connecting all of this: consensus draft valuation systematically overweights volume statistics and name recognition while underweighting film-study details like pressure response and pocket decision-making. Simpson’s 28 touchdowns look elite. His performance under pressure tells a more complicated story. The Steelers appear ready to exploit that gap by refusing to participate in what they see as market inflation. Weak QB class. Inflated consensus. One team with a different read on the film. The result cascades outward: from Pittsburgh’s draft board to Simpson’s contract to how every other franchise values late-round developmental quarterbacks going forward.

The Voice Inside the Building

Front office sources have confirmed that “Will Howard has fans in the front office.” Mike McCarthy has expressed public belief in Howard’s potential, while acknowledging that a sixth-rounder is far from a guaranteed long-term answer. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers’ future in Pittsburgh remains uncertain as he weighs whether to continue playing. Current reporting suggests the team is preparing for multiple scenarios. Think about the pressure sitting on a 185th-overall pick right now. Rodgers hasn’t fully committed. The franchise has drawn criticism in NFLPA workplace reports in recent seasons. And the sixth-rounder is supposed to develop and possibly thrive in that environment.

A New Rule for the Draft

Pittsburgh is trying to establish a precedent: a competitive team can win its division, carry an aging quarterback with an uncertain future, and still refuse to panic-draft at the most visible position in football. That’s a framework other organizations will study. The Steelers may wait until round three or later to address quarterback, if they address it at all. Board-playing over positional desperation. The last time Pittsburgh showed this level of QB restraint was before the Pickett era. The draft rulebook might be getting a new chapter written by the team that got burned worst.

Who Profits, Who Pays

Winners: every other quarterback in this class. If Simpson slides, Fernando Mendoza’s status as the safest first-round quarterback solidifies. Prospects like Drew Allar, Garrett Nussmeier, and others climb relatively as teams reassess how early they really need to pull the QB trigger. Losers: Simpson’s contract leverage shrinks with every pick he falls. Teams that do draft him early now carry the burden of proving the skeptics wrong. And the agents who benefit from inflated early-round QB valuations just watched one franchise and a prominent analyst publicly question the pricing model. The irony: a team often criticized in workplace-culture surveys might have one of the sharper evaluation rooms in football.

The Cascade Keeps Breaking

April 23 arrives in days. If the Steelers pass on QB at 21—as many expect—the signal reverberates league-wide: late-round QB development just became a legitimate alternative to early-round consensus spending, at least in Pittsburgh’s mind. If Howard earns meaningful snaps behind Rodgers and performs, his value explodes, and every team that passed on a sixth-rounder re-examines its own board. Simpson’s new team will spend years trying to show that his college tape scales to the NFL. Pittsburgh’s front office will spend the same years hoping their read was right. Nobody’s sitting still. And the cascade from one team’s film study hasn’t finished moving.

Sources:
“Steelers Could Add to QB Room After First Round in NFL Draft.” ESPN, 7 Apr 2026.
“Pittsburgh Steelers 2026 NFL Draft Picks, Biggest Needs.” ESPN, 12 Apr 2026.
“2026 NFL Draft Breakdown: Alabama QB Ty Simpson.” Pro Football Focus, 24 Feb 2026.
“Analyst Believes Steelers Can Land Starting QB in 2026 NFL Draft.” Yahoo Sports, 14 Apr 2026.