![\"Pittsburgh](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-951981418-e1775489703316.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL Draft.<\/p>\n
The Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> could be one of the most interesting teams in the 2026 NFL Draft. With as many draft picks as they have, they could become quite active, starting with their first-round selection.<\/p>\n In total, the Steelers have 12 picks at the moment, giving them plenty of draft capital to entice teams in the first round if they want to move up.<\/p>\n One team they could make a deal with, according to ESPN\u2019s Bill Barnwell<\/a>, is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Steelers Trade-Up Scenario Targets Ty Simpson Ahead of Jets<\/p>\n The Buccaneers currently hold the No. 15 overall pick compared to Pittsburgh\u2019s No. 21. Barnwell notes Tampa Bay could look to trade down if it believes it can still land a notable cornerback or edge rusher.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they feel like they can trade down and still land somebody such as [Akheem] Mesidor, [T.J.] Parker or Cashius Howell (Texas A&M) at No. 21, moving down and adding two middle-round picks wouldn\u2019t be too painful,\u201d Barnwell wrote.<\/p>\n So why would the Steelers move up six spots?<\/p>\n To secure their future quarterback in Alabama\u2019s Ty Simpson \u2014 and potentially jump ahead of the New York Jets<\/a>, who pick at No. 16.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Steelers would be moving up here in an attempt to land Simpson. There\u2019s a decent chance that they could land him at 21, but with the Jets picking at No. 16, general manager Omar Khan would have to be reasonably worried that New York would be willing to take the Alabama quarterback in the middle of the first round as opposed to waiting until the start of Round 2.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposed trade package is relatively reasonable. Pittsburgh would send picks No. 21, No. 76 and No. 135 in exchange for Tampa Bay\u2019s No. 15 pick and a sixth-rounder (No. 195).<\/p>\n \u201cThe rules roughly go out the window when teams are moving up for quarterbacks, but this wouldn\u2019t even be an exorbitant price, with the Steelers ceding one of their three third-round picks and a fourth-round compensatory selection to jump ahead of the Jets,\u201d Barnwell added.<\/p>\n While there are those in Pittsburgh who are fond of sixth-round pick Will Howard, he has yet to take a preseason or regular-season snap. Simpson would likely slot in as QB2 in 2026 behind a veteran \u2014 most likely Aaron Rodgers \u2014 before taking over long term.<\/p>\n More: Alabama\u2019s Ty Simpson Gets Brutal Career Projection Based On QB History<\/a><\/p>\n Steelers\u2019 QB Uncertainty Continues to Fuel Ty Simpson Buzz<\/p>\n Simpson\u2019s draft stock has been all over the place in the last several weeks leading up to the draft.<\/p>\n That said, multiple mock drafts continue to connect him to Pittsburgh, largely because of the team\u2019s uncertainty at quarterback. However, not all have them selecting him at No. 21. It may take a situation like Barnwell\u2019s trade prediction with the Buccaneers to do so.<\/p>\n Aaron Rodgers has yet to announce whether he will return for the 2026 season. While new head coach Mike McCarthy has said he and Rodgers speak regularly, that still doesn\u2019t provide clarity on the situation.<\/p>\n Even if Rodgers does return, it doesn\u2019t change the long-term outlook.<\/p>\n Simpson wouldn\u2019t be expected to start in Week 1. The focus would be on developing him behind a veteran, with the expectation that he could take over in 2027 and beyond.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why a move like this makes sense.<\/p>\n The Steelers aren\u2019t just drafting for 2026 \u2014 they\u2019re trying to secure stability at the most important position for years to come.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tShane Shoemaker<\/a> Shane Shoemaker is a sports journalist covering college football and the NFL for Heavy.com. His work has also appeared in The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, USA TODAY, and ClutchPoints, along with high school sports coverage for the Marion Tribune. More about Shane Shoemaker<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Steelers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL Draft. The Pittsburgh Steelers could be one of the most interesting teams in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":857046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2077],"tags":[211,7,6,704,250,2597,2596],"class_list":{"0":"post-857045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-buccaneers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-tampa-bay","12":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","13":"tag-tampabay","14":"tag-tampabaybuccaneers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116358514585298054","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857045","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=857045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}