The NFL now turns its attention to next year's draft -- specifically a QB class with tremendous hype

PITTSBURGH — Sometimes, it’s funny what draft picks can turn into.

The Steelers sent George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys a year ago this month and effectively got Drew Allar in return, more or less. The compensatory selections they received for letting Dan Moore Jr. and Justin Fields leave in free agency effectively allowed them to draft Gennings Dunker and Germie Bernard, respectively.

So, what a difference a year can make.

The 2026 NFL draft has come and gone, teams have had their wrap-up parties and the media scouting community has moved on to next year. The work begins now on 2027.

The Steelers aren’t likely to have nearly as much draft capital as they did in their own city, with four compensatory picks bolstering their war chest in the war room. Unless Aaron Rodgers leaves the Steelers hanging — permanently — and signs elsewhere, they won’t receive any draft compensation next year because of their willingness to spend on the likes of Rico Dowdle, Sebastian Joseph-Day and Jaquan Brisker in free agency.

“The main thing that the [unrestricted free agent] tender gives us is potential for a comp pick, if Aaron would choose to go to another team,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said Wednesday on NFL Network. “We don’t expect that. But by the same token, you never know, and it’s just something we had an opportunity to protect, if needed.”

Otherwise, the Steelers have only their own picks in the first four rounds, the Cowboys’ fifth-rounder and two seventh-rounders at their disposal going forward, plus their 2028 assets. Unless he trades an established player — or more — general manager Omar Khan won’t have a plethora of firepower to move up or around the draft board next year.

And despite the aforementioned pick of Allar, the first Penn State quarterback ever to land in Pittsburgh via the draft, the Steelers figure to hit the scouting trail hard again in pursuit of quarterbacks.

On the bright side, there appears to be plenty more of them, although that was perceived to be the case at this time last year, too.

Going deep at quarterback

Allar, Cade Klubnik and Garrett Nussmeier of 2026 are now Drew Mestemaker, C.J. Carr and Julian Sayin. Arch Manning, Dante Moore and LaNorris Sellers are still themselves after electing to pass on the draft and stay in college.

Those are the main names to know for the upcoming quarterback class, but there are others.

Miami’s Darian Mensah, who left Duke, is the latest in a long line of transfers to claim the quarterback spot for the Hurricanes, who had Cam Ward drafted first overall last season and Carson Beck taken in the third round last week.

“[Mensah] kind of reminds me of Cam Ward, mentality-wise,” outgoing Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa said while he was in Pittsburgh to attend the draft. “He’s an awesome player. His leadership skills, man, it’s amazing. He can take full control of the offense. I saw that in Cam Ward and I see that in him when I was at the spring game. I feel very confident in this guy next year.”

Mississippi’s Trinidad Chambliss, Oklahoma’s John Mateer and Southern California’s Jayden Maiava all are back for another season in school, while Sam Leavitt left Arizona State for LSU and DJ Lagway left Florida for Baylor.

It’s always worth keeping an eye now on Indiana, as well, considering what the Hoosiers did with and for Fernando Mendoza. Head coach Curt Cignetti brought in TCU transfer Josh Hoover, a fifth-year senior, to replace the Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick.

Then there’s big-framed quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who’s on his third stop, from Indiana to Cincinnati to Texas Tech.

As of this week, he’s under investigation by the NCAA after he entered treatment for gambling addiction. His status for the upcoming college football season, and his potential professional future, is so in flux that some have speculated he could be the NFL’s first supplemental draft pick since 2019 — and first quarterback since Jeannette’s Terrelle Pryor.

Don’t forget the defense

Those are just the quarterbacks, though. Don’t sleep on the guys whose job is to go hunt the quarterbacks.

Colin Simmons of Texas and Dylan Stewart of South Carolina were both five-star recruits coming out of high school in the 2024 recruiting class. They’ve only ascended from there.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Simmons racked up 21 sacks and 29 1/2 tackles for loss over his first two seasons. Stewart has less production at 11 sacks and 22 1/2 tackles for loss, but he’s even more physically impressive at 6-5, 245 — with a playing style that looks like Gumby with a mean streak.

In 2022, Travon Walker and Aidan Hutchinson went No. 1 and 2 in the draft, but that was a year devoid of elite quarterbacks. This pass-rushing duo might be even better and go lower in the order given the quarterback projections.

There also are a couple of cornerbacks, Notre Dame’s Leonard Moore and Georgia’s Ellis Robinson IV, who are widely viewed as better prospects than anyone at the position in this past draft. Neither were eligible.

Early mock drafts say ...

We’ve come this far and have yet to hit on the most accomplished star of the entire bunch, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

It’s not a stretch to say he’s been the best player at his position in college football since the start of his freshman year, when he led the Buckeyes in receiving en route to the national title.

The 6-3, 223-pound Smith is a cousin of veteran NFL quarterback Geno Smith. He tied Travis Hunter for the most touchdown catches in the Power Four conferences with 15 and trailed only first-round draft pick Tetairoa McMillan in receiving yards as a freshman. As a sophomore, he led all power-conference players with 1,243 yards through the air.

Longtime draft expert Todd McShay is calling it the most anticipated draft of his career, and he has the Steelers picking Carr, the redshirt sophomore Notre Dame quarterback, in the first round at this too-early juncture.

Jordan Reid of ESPN and Dane Brugler of The Athletic have paired the Steelers with Mestemaker, a 6-3 redshirt sophomore who lit up the scoreboard last season at North Texas — where he walked on initially — and has since transferred to Oklahoma State.

Brendan Donahue of Sharp Football Analysis is another mock drafter who gave the Steelers a quarterback, but it was Mensah of Miami. Rob Rang of Fox Sports went with South Carolina’s Sellers.

Those are all different flavors of quarterbacks. But clearly, the presence of Allar isn’t changing the outside predictions for what the Steelers could and should do. What if Allar happens to look the part, though — or Will Howard, for that matter?

As the Steelers approach a 16th season for defensive lineman and captain Cam Heyward, in addition to Keeanu Benton’s contract year, adding to the defensive line again is an intriguing possibility. Derrick Harmon was a start, but the Steelers didn’t add to the group until late in the sixth round last weekend in unheralded Notre Dame giant Gabriel Rubio.

Keep an eye this season on A’Mauri Washington, a 6-3, 330-pound senior at Oregon. He skipped the draft in favor of one more year and is like a little brother to Harmon, a fellow Detroit native and Ducks defensive lineman.

And hey, if all else fails, there’s always another option. The Steelers could use their first pick on an offensive tackle for the fourth time in five years.