Omar Khan isn’t just picking for the roster this year. He’s picking in front of a home crowd at Point State Park that will let him hear it if he misses on a tackle again.
The 2026 NFL Draft lands in Pittsburgh for the first time, and the Steelers hold pick No. 21 with a left side of the offensive line crumbling beneath them.
Broderick Jones missed significant time in 2025 with a spinal-fusion neck surgery, his fifth-year option deadline looms on May 1st. Isaac Seumalo is gone to Arizona, leaving Spencer Anderson and Brock Hoffman as the internal candidates fighting for that left guard spot.
Aaron Rodgers feels like a lock to return, but the future of the position is still a massive question mark, with Will Howard’s rookie year largely derailed by a freak hand injury he suffered during training camp. Forget the skill positions for a second. This draft starts and ends in the trenches, and every scout, every former Steeler, every analyst with a podcast knows it.
The QB Context: One Variable That Changes Everythin
Before diving into the board, the quarterback situation demands clarity. Rodgers arrives in Pittsburgh as the presumed starter for 2026, a one-year stabilizer, not a long-term solution. Howard remains the developmental heir, a sixth-round swing from 2025 who never got a real shot due to injury. Both men are depth chart entries, not answers. Franchise legend Jerome Bettis argued the Steelers should pursue a quarterback on Day 3, someone to develop under McCarthy, and suggested the sweet spot is a fourth- or fifth-round pick, much like Howard was. That philosophy keeps the first-round pick available for structural needs. Because of that framework, the trench becomes the conversation.
The Long Shots
Three criteria drive this analysis: positional need, long-term franchise fit, and draft-range value. All three arrows point toward the offensive line, but not exclusively. The safety room carries real cracks too. With Minkah Fitzpatrick gone following his trade to Miami in 2025, DeShon Elliott leads the unit, complemented by Jaquan Brisker and Darnell on recent one-year deals. Out of those three, only Elliott holds a contract through 2027, and none run through 2028. Patrick Graham would have a field day with the right chess piece at safety. Here are the 10 options Pittsburgh should consider at pick No. 21, ranked from fringe gamble to the most defensible selection on the board.
The Great Turning Points at No. 21
10. Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama
Ty Simpson sits just outside the usual Steelers first-round logic. At the start of this draft cycle, the Alabama signal-caller wasn’t even on the radar. Unless the Steelers have masterfully hidden their infatuation with Simpson and plan on taking him in the first round, the sweet spot to address quarterback is either late on Day 2 or early Day 3, he doesn’t need to come in and play right away behind Rodgers. Spending the 21st pick on Simpson only makes sense if Rodgers walks before Draft Day and the board offers no better alternative. Despite the pressure to accelerate the timeline, that scenario remains unlikely.
9. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Oregon
Patrick Graham would have a field day with a chess piece like McNeil-Warren. He profiles as a long, downhill safety capable of bolstering a team’s run defense and playing enforcer over the middle, excelling near the line of scrimmage or in robber positioning. The arguments for drafting a safety in the first round are real, Pittsburgh’s current safeties carry contract timelines that expire before 2028, creating a structural gap that needs filling sooner rather than later. However, McNeil-Warren’s vulnerability against speed mismatches in coverage makes him a safer value on Day 2 than with a top-21 selection.
8. Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU
Nussmeier carries legitimate starting upside and an NFL-ready arm. Before long, Pittsburgh will need to answer the quarterback question without a four-time MVP in the building, and when that moment arrives, having a Day 2 asset already developing in the room beats scrambling in free agency. The Steelers need another starting-caliber option for the future, with Howard’s recovery status still uncertain and the Rodgers era approaching its natural end. Yet spending a first-round pick on a quarterback when the roster carries more immediate structural fractures feels like painting the walls before pouring the foundation.
7. Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia
Across the scouting community, Freeling draws consistent first-round praise. Other options for the Steelers at pick 21 include Freeling alongside Kadyn Proctor as players who could directly address the team’s needs at tackle. Freeling’s footwork held up against elite SEC edge rushers throughout his Georgia career. Years of development under Kirby Smart built him into a reliable pass protector. At pick 21, he represents genuine value, primarily if Proctor goes earlier and the board forces Pittsburgh to pivot.
6. Kyle Louis, LB, Pittsburgh
Few scenarios would light up the crowd at Point State Park like the Steelers calling a Pitt Panther’s name on their home stage. Pittsburgh should be familiar with Louis, who starred at Pitt for four years, bringing special athleticism and coverage skills that make him a potentially dangerous and versatile weapon in Graham’s defense, capable of playing in the box or in the slot. However, reaching past his projected Day 2 value to satisfy a crowd moment would undermine the scouting process. In Round 3 or 4, he’s a steal. With the 21st selection, the pick is a reach.
5. Max Iheanachor, OT/G, Arizona State
Max Iheanachor is the definition of a projection, a former soccer player who looks like he was built in a lab, even if he’s still learning how to pass set. A former pro scout called Iheanachor his “man-crush,” projecting him as a player who starts his career at guard before transitioning to tackle, citing the elite athleticism he carries from years of soccer and basketball competition. Per PFF’s 2026 draft metrics, his combination of raw physical upside and rapid football development at Arizona State makes him a legitimate wild card in the back half of the first round. Before long, those projection charts have a way of becoming draft-night reality.
4. Blake Miller, OT, Clemson
The Steelers have connected to Clemson’s Blake Miller as a potential first-round target, having already hosted several offensive tackle prospects for pre-draft visits as they work through their options at the position. Miller’s Clemson development baseline translates directly to NFL pass-protection demands. Tackles who process defensive stunts with Miller’s football IQ tend to outlast the raw athletes who don’t. Despite the pressure to go flashier, investing in a polished Clemson tackle at No. 21 reflects exactly the quiet discipline that built Pittsburgh’s dynasty-era rosters.
3. Olaivavega Ioane, G, Penn State
Hours later after every wild mock draft cycle burns itself out, the board almost always returns to the same name when Pittsburgh’s needs get honestly assessed. Khan needs to find a plug-and-play guard to replace Seumalo, or the left side of the line will remain a sieve. Mel Kiper Jr. projected Ioane to Pittsburgh at pick 21, operating under the assumption that Rodgers returns and allows the Steelers to address quarterback later in the draft. A former pro and college scout was direct: “He’s a plug-and-play guard. He would just be too good to pass up at pick No. 21 to be honest with you.” Consequently, Ioane at 21 followed by a quarterback on Day 2 may represent the most complete draft strategy available to this front office.
2. Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia, The Insurance Policy
At this stage of the countdown, the case for a blue-chip tackle becomes undeniable. Broderick Jones‘ spinal-fusion surgery is “always going to be more serious of a recovery process,” and the left tackle position carries genuine uncertainty heading into the spring. Monroe Freeling represents the cleaner version of the tackle investment, more polished footwork than the projection picks above him, more consistent technique, and the SEC production volume to justify a premium selection. With picks at 53rd, 76th, 85th, and 99th overall, Pittsburgh can afford to use the 21st selection on the trench with certainty, then pursue high-upside options across Day 2 and Day 3. Just beyond the arc of pure need sits a player who could anchor the left side for a decade.
1. Kadyn Proctor, OT/G, Alabama, The Pick
Finally, the name that has dominated Pittsburgh’s mock draft chatter since January. Standing at 6-foot-7 and 366 pounds, Kadyn Proctor enters the draft ranked as the third-best tackle prospect per PFF’s 2026 big board. With the hole at left guard following Seumalo’s departure to Arizona, Proctor’s movement skills and strength translate well to the interior, and Pittsburgh could then look to slide him over to tackle further down the line.
Proctor has “tremendous size, a ton of power, sustains his anchor relatively consistently, and can really punish defenders.” NFL.com’s Eric Edholm called Proctor “an ideal pick” for the Steelers, a sentiment Jerome Bettis echoed when he specifically named offensive line as the team’s top draft priority heading into April. At just 20 years old, his ceiling remains untouched. He plays with pad-level issues occasionally and sometimes leads with his head into contact, coincidentally the same tendency that contributed to Jones’ injury. However, these are coachable flaws on an otherwise dominant physical profile. Suddenly, Khan has the foundational piece to anchor the next generation of the Pittsburgh offensive line.
What This Pick Means for the Next Era
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ mock draft conversation has always carried extra weight. In 2026, it carries something heavier, the burden of expectation inside a city that is watching every move from Point State Park’s stage. Jerome Bettis laid out the blueprint: offensive line, linebacker, a quarterback developed on Day 3, and a receiver in Round 2 to complement DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. That template lacks glamour. Yet it reflects exactly how Pittsburgh built its greatest rosters, steel-spined, process-driven, unmoved by the noise of a home crowd demanding the flashy pick.
Analysts have identified the offensive line investment as “especially necessary once the Steelers are forced to turn toward a younger quarterback after 2026.” That clock runs whether Rodgers returns or not, his presence buys one more season, not one more era. The team that builds a dominant offensive line first gives whoever takes the next snap under center a fighting chance against the AFC North’s physical defensive fronts, against elite edge rushers, and against the entropy that dismantles rosters built on flash without structure.
With 12 total selections and a structure built around picks in the third and fourth rounds, the Steelers own the flexibility to execute a two-layer strategy: secure the trench at 21, then pursue the franchise quarterback before Day 3 closes. Khan scouted this class carefully. He hosted the right prospects. Before long, the answer gets locked behind a card, and announced to the loudest crowd a draft stage has heard on the banks of the Allegheny.
What Kadyn Proctor does with that moment, and what those 11 remaining picks reveal about this front office’s conviction, determines whether this Steelers rebuild becomes a chapter or a dynasty.
Read More: Pittsburgh Steelers 2026 Draft: Hometown Heroes and O-Line Needs
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who do the Steelers take at No. 21 in this mock draft?
A: Kadyn Proctor. The story frames him as the best mix of need, ceiling, and long-term value.
Q: Why does this article push offensive line over quarterback?
A: Because Pittsburgh’s left side feels shaky. The piece argues the next quarterback needs protection before anything else.
Q: Is quarterback off the board for the Steelers in this mock?
A: No. The article just moves that swing to later rounds and keeps Round 1 focused on structure.
Q: Why is pick No. 21 such a big deal for Omar Khan?
A: He makes it at home, in front of Pittsburgh, with the roster still unsettled in the trenches.
Q: Why does Kadyn Proctor top the list?
A: He gives the Steelers size, power, and flexibility. The article sees him as a guard now and a tackle later.
Appreciating the fundamentals. Living for playoff energy all year round.
