The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the preseason with 10 rookie draft picks for the first time since 2010, and nine of them made their debuts Thursday night. Their first impression was about as good as it gets. Drew Allar stole the spotlight, but Germie Bernard, Kaden Wetjen, Gabriel Rubio, and several others made strong cases that this rookie class could have plenty to offer.

Max Iheanachor was the only rookie to sit out with a minor upper-body injury suffered a little over a week ago. He was expected back last week but did not return. Before his exit from practice he was looking great in pads. His eventual debut only increases the intrigue of this class.

Welcome back to another year of rookie report cards. The 2026 group is vast, so buckle up for a lengthy review, including clips of each player’s game film, analysis, and ultimately a letter grade of their performance.

Preseason Week 1 – Vs Green Bay Packers
WR Germie Bernard

Snaps: 28 on offense (41 percent), 0 on special teams
Pro Football Focus Grade: 79.5 offense

Bernard has had a relatively quiet training camp after being one of the big standouts of the spring, but he gave his best when the lights came on for his first preseason game. He caught four passes for 51 yards, including an impressive scamper up the right sideline with a spin move and a pair of broken tackles.

Here’s that play, Bernard running a flat route from the slot. Really impressive work after the catch.

His best play of the day didn’t count as he executed a scramble drill and worked his way open while Mason Rudolph extended the play. Bernard made an athletic grab but failed to get both feet inbounds as the defender pushed him out. He probably could have worked back to Rudolph with plenty of room in front of him, but the sequence was impressive nevertheless. Had he completed that play it would have easily been an A+ day.

Preseason Week 1 Grade: A-
Preseason GPA: 3.7

QB Drew Allar

Snaps: 30 on offense (44 percent), 0 on special teams
Pro Football Focus Grade: 80.5 offense

I’m not sure how many quarterbacks can say their first NFL pass was a 74-yard play, but Allar is now one of, I’m sure, just a few. Allar is still a project in need of further refinement. His footwork issues showed up on a very awkward dropback, but otherwise he was lights out. If this is the worst version of Allar we will ever see, then big things are ahead for the third-round pick.

Here’s his 74-yard completion where he read the man coverage, looked off the hole linebacker in the middle, and then hit Kaden Wetjen in a spot where he could break away for a big play.

Preseason Week 1 Grade: A+
Preseason GPA: 4.0 (+)

CB Daylen Everette

Snaps: 36 on defense (69.2 percent), 9 on special teams
Pro Football Focus Grade: 52.5 defense, 74.6 special teams

Everette carried over his impressive camp and showed why the Steelers are so excited about him. This deep ball from Tyrod Taylor is a good example. Everette stayed right in the hip pocket of the Packers wide receiver, step for step, and the pass fell incomplete. He’s going to be in position to make a lot of interceptions throughout his career.

In run support, Everette was a little slow to diagnose the play here but still got downhill in a hurry. As noted in our draft scouting report, Everette tends to tackle a little high, which will be an issue at times. Something he still needs to work on.

Preseason Week 1 Grade: B-
Preseason GPA: 2.7

OG Gennings Dunker

Snaps: 30 on offense (44 percent), 3 on special teams
Pro Football Focus Grade: 74.9 offense, 60.4 special teams

Dunker’s play strength flashed in his NFL debut, and he did better as a pass blocker than Mike McCarthy’s recent comments would suggest.

First, just look at his sheer size compared to everybody else — his lower half is enormous. Then watch as he digs the Packers defensive lineman off the line of scrimmage and drives him five yards away from the play.

Dunker’s pass protection looked solid against backup defensive linemen. Very few are going to be able to outmuscle him. Where he may struggle is with speed.

Preseason Week 1 Grade: B
Preseason GPA: 3.0

RET/WR Kaden Wetjen

Snaps: 18 on offense (26 percent), 7 on special teams
Pro Football Focus Grade: 88.0 offense, 60.1 special teams

We already touched on Wetjen’s receiving ability above in the Allar section. It was better than expected and suggests he could be more than a special teamer sooner rather than later. But as a rookie, he’ll mostly be a return specialist, so let’s look at his performance there.

Wetjen didn’t have much room to run for most of the game with good kick and punt coverage by the Packers. But one play is worth noting. On second kick-return attempt, he didn’t follow his lead blocker (Eli Heidenreich) and instead sprinted sideways for a very minimal gain. That may have worked in college, but it won’t in the NFL. Wetjen won’t always be able to find a lane up the sideline and needs to be willing to hit the hole as designed.

Preseason Week 1 Grade: B+
Preseason GPA: 3.3

FB/TE Riley Nowakowski

Snaps: 13 on offense (19 percent), 8 on special teams
Pro Football Focus Grade: 47.8 offense, 62.0 special teams

Nowakowski became Fernando Mendoza’s security blanket at Indiana because he always made the big plays in the big moments. His first opportunity with the Steelers was a bust with a dropped pass that should have been an easy touchdown. It was Allar’s worst throw of the night, but Nowakowski still should have caught it. He redeemed himself with a touchdown later. It was a tough catch, but he made it.

More intriguing is his work as a fullback. The Steelers showed off I-formation quickly on offense. It wasn’t anything special, but Nowakowski did a solid job kicking out the end man.

Preseason Week 1 Grade: B-
Preseason GPA: 2.7

DT Gabriel Rubio

Snaps: 21 on defense (35 percent), 6 on special teams
Pro Football Focus Grade: 65.3 defense, 59.8 special teams

The Steelers may have something with the unheralded sixth-round pick. Rubio flashed as a run stuffer and showed off his red-hot motor. He even made a tackle from the ground. Our Joe Clark did a full Rubio film room, but here’s my personal favorite.

Preseason Week 1 Grade: B
Preseason GPA: 3.0

S Robert Spears-Jennings

Snaps: 36 on defense (60 percent), 3 on special teams
Pro Football Focus Grade: 65.8 defense, 59.9 special teams

Nobody has benefitted from injuries more than Spears-Jennings this training camp. He’s played with the starters a ton, and that carried over into the Steelers’ preseason opener. How they used him was most notable to me. He played 24 snaps at free safety for a team is that admittedly lacking depth there. On the other hand, I’m not sure whether his lack of special teams play was a good or bad thing for his 53-man roster odds.

Spears-Jennings’ play recognition, trigger, and speed were all on display on this play as he found a seam and burst into the backfield for a tackle for loss.

Preseason Week 1 Grade: C+
Preseason GPA: 2.3

RB Eli Heidenreich

Snaps: 25 on offense (37 percent), 3 on special teams
Pro Football Focus Grade: 49.4 offense, 59.6 special teams

Being part of the starting kick-return line was good, but Heidenreich didn’t get a chance to return one. As a runner, he didn’t have much space and didn’t create much on his own. He fought hard for some yards after contact, but an otherwise quiet debut for the fan favorite.

This toss play didn’t go anywhere, but I like how Heidenreich ran right off Riley Nowakowski’s back hip, exactly as it’s taught.

Preseason Week 1 Grade: C-
Preseason GPA: 2.0