PITTSBURGH — Based on the initial reaction among fans and many media members both locally and nationally, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a very underwhelming draft class.

They made 10 picks and most sparked some valid questions about where they fit and/or why the Steelers drafted them so high when they were likely to be on the board later.

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, whom the Steelers used their first third-round pick on, raised the most questions and seemed to be the most polarizing of them all. Allar was once thought to be the best quarterback in the draft but had a disappointing senior season and seemed to specialize at playing poorly in the biggest games.

The fact that he lacked the clutch gene was the biggest criticism of him, and I am not sure that is fair. The truth is he probably didn’t have enough talent around him to compete with the best teams that he played.

And the Steelers believe his physical talent will become evident once he is coached properly and surrounded by the right talent.

“He throws it as well as any quarterback in the draft,” Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Arth said. “He has an effortless arm. He can make every throw on the field.”

Still, the Steelers drafted him and — depending on what spinmeister you believe the most — think he was the best or second-best quarterback on the board. Steelers coach Mike McCarthy believes he has the stuff of an NFL starter — with some better footwork — while others think he was a wasted pick.

Now the Steelers will have to sort out the quarterback room, and it seems like there are only two scenarios that make sense assuming Aaron Rodgers is indeed coming back.

The first is that Will Howard, who McCarthy was praising about a month ago, will be the odd man out and that would be the most painless as well. The Steelers are clearly not as high on Howard as they let on or they would not have drafted Allar.

The other thing that could happen is Mason Rudolph is the odd man out but that would mean Rodgers would be backed up by essentially two rookies. I don’t think a team that has aspirations of winning and being competitive really wants that, especially with an older starting quarterback.

The Steelers’ first-round pick, tackle Max Iheanachor, is well regarded as a prospect, but the question is when he will be ready to play at a high level in the NFL. Iheanachor hasn’t played a lot of football, is relatively raw and might have to step in at a position he isn’t familiar with.

Along with Allar, most people aren’t upset with the picks, it’s where they were picked and how unlikely it is that they will adequately fill a hole in the lineup in 2026. Allar won’t play and Iheanachor might turn out to be the starter, but he will be a rookie with a very steep learning curve.

Gennings Dunker and Germie Bernard both seem to be universally considered good picks and both will contribute in 2026. The Steelers may have reached a little for Kaden Wetjen (they took a pure kick/punt returner in the fourth round), but at least he will be a starter at a position of need.

Daylen Everette will provide some depth at cornerback and Robert Spears-Jennings is exactly the kind of player you want in the seventh round, as he has some freakish speed and the potential to become a solid NFL player.

I have no idea what the point of drafting fullback Riley Nowakowski was but, OK, and the Gabriel Rubio pick made no sense at all, either.

Rubio would have been on the board as an undrafted free agent and he almost assuredly won’t help the Steelers in 2026. One analyst described him as “slow, lacking talent and productivity,” and that is one of the most flattering things I read about him.

The feel-good story of the draft is Mt. Lebanon/Navy star running back Eli Heidenreich, as he is a local and national hero. I love the story, it was great to see him get drafted, but I think people allowed the story to push them way over the edge in terms of how big of an impact Heidenreich will have on the field.

He is a wingback in an option offense, which means he didn’t run between the tackles a lot, and the Steelers have two running backs. He is a good receiver out of the backfield, but again, he was still on the board in the seventh round when the Steelers picked. Any comparisons to Christian McCaffrey are a bit silly.

Hopefully the Steelers find a role for him, but I would say the odds are fairly high that he has a long hill to climb in order to be a player who makes an impact next season.

You add it all up and it doesn’t seem like a great class and certainly doesn’t seem like a class that will adequately fill all the holes in the roster. It seems like the Steelers reached too many times to draft guys they could have gotten later.

The Steelers needed to get better in this draft and seemingly didn’t, at least for 2026. But then again, maybe they did and they managed to continue to build a solid foundation for the future as well.

Start with the fact that they drafted at least two starters in Bernard (in a three-receiver set) and Dunker (left guard), and there is a good chance Wetjen fills in at both returner spots, while Iheanachor starts at right tackle as well.

Assuming they are all competent to begin and improve as the season goes on and they gain experience, that’s four spots of need that have been filled. Also, the two linemen enable McCarthy and company to juggle the offensive line in order to find the best combination and build some depth there as well.

The wide receiver room was a barren wasteland of DK Metcalf and a bunch of guys, but the Steelers added Bernard and Michael Pittman Jr. and suddenly it looks like it could turn into a team strength. Everette will certainly be involved at the very least in some of the Steelers sub-packages, so he will be a useful piece as well.

It all really revolves around Allar. If he develops into a legitimate NFL quarterback, that changes this class completely. If he never develops or has a Rudolph-like career, this class will be considered a disappointment, no matter what these other guys do.

I personally think there will be enough good football players in this class that a lot of the angst and criticism will go away and maybe pretty quickly, depending on how many of these guys actually make it into the lineup.

I’ll be honest — I hated the class initially, but I have slowly but surely begun to warm up to it, as I do think I can see a method to Omar Khan and McCarthy’s madness.

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