{"id":849956,"date":"2026-04-02T20:30:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/849956\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T20:30:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:30:24","slug":"espn-analysts-inject-steelers-with-penn-state-flavor-in-2026-nfl-draft-mock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/849956\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN Analysts Inject Steelers with Penn State Flavor in 2026 NFL Draft Mock"},"content":{"rendered":"

2026 NFL Draft<\/a>\u2022Steelers News<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"NCAACredit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

In ESPN\u2019s latest 2026 NFL Draft mock-up, analysts Mel Kiper Jr., Matt Miller, Jordan Reid and Field Yates took turns making selections. The quartet plugged some glaring holes for the Pittsburgh Steelers and also added a potential signal-caller of the future \u2014 or present.<\/p>\n

Kiper, who made the Steelers\u2019 pick at No. 21 overall, chose Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane, saying<\/a>, \u201cLet\u2019s assume Aaron Rodgers is coming back to town and wait on the QBs. Instead, here is the Steelers\u2019 Isaac Seumalo replacement. Ioane is a powerful people mover who hasn\u2019t allowed a sack since 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was there for the taking for Kiper at No. 85.<\/p>\n

\"PittsburghPenn State quarterback Drew Allar at the 2024 Peach Bowl in Atlanta. \u2014 Jordan Lenenberg \/ Nittany Sports Now<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, the QB board is finally lining up for the Steelers,\u201d Kiper said. \u201cAllar is coming off that ankle injury, but he has upside. And he has the size we\u2019ve seen under center in Pittsburgh; at 6-foot-5 and 228 pounds, his frame reminds of Ben Roethlisberger. If Aaron Rodgers is back, Allar<\/a> can learn from a legend. If not, he could potentially compete with Mason Rudolph and Will Howard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kiper also helped the Steelers out in the receiving department, nabbing Tennessee wideout Chris Brazzell II in the second round (No. 53 overall). Brazzell, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 198 pounds, is a \u201clong-limbed \u2018Z\u2019 receiver with the ability to create downfield for an offense thirsty to make more explosive plays outside,\u201d NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote<\/a> in a scouting report. \u201cHe builds to speed with long strides and dominates above the rim. He\u2019s adept at using length and body control to capture air space against cornerbacks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yates turned in the initial theoretical draft slip for Mike McCarthy\u2019s team in the third round, plucking LSU safety A.J. Haulcy at No. 76 overall. Reid gave the Steelers Florida State defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. at No. 99.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned In This Article: 2026 NFL Draft<\/a> Drew Allar<\/a> Olaivavega Ioane<\/a> Penn State<\/a> Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> Steelers<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026 NFL Draft\u2022Steelers News Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images In ESPN\u2019s latest 2026 NFL Draft mock-up, analysts Mel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":849957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[4955,1800,7,6,53910,948,520,57,2360,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-849956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-drew-allar","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-olaivavega-ioane","13":"tag-penn-state","14":"tag-pittsburgh","15":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","16":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","17":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116337015111987388","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}