{"id":45514,"date":"2025-05-02T02:11:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T02:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45514"},"modified":"2025-05-02T02:11:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T02:11:11","slug":"breaking-steelers-eyeing-big-move-to-land-top-end-quarterback-insider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45514","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Steelers Eyeing \u2018Big Move\u2019 to Land Top-End Quarterback: Insider.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2179872999-4.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2179872999-4.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2179872999-4.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2179872999-4.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Mike Tomlin\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-dom-ready-time=\"322\" data-img-load-time=\"868\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Pittsburgh Steelers insider Mark Kaboly wrote head coach Mike Tomlin and the team are eyeing a big move at quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The big remaining question for the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0this offseason is whether quarterback\u00a0Aaron Rodgers\u00a0will join the team for 2025. Steelers insider Mark Kaboly, though, wrote Thursday that Mike Tomlin and company already have their eyes set on the next signal-caller after Rodgers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not going to attach a specific name to any potential draft pick a year from now, but I will say this: It sure seems like the Steelers will be in a position to make a big move in the 2026 draft to move in range to get a top-end quarterback,\u201d\u00a0Kaboly wrote. \u201cRight now, it appears that they will have 11 picks in the draft, with two each in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds because of compensatory picks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey will have enough capital to move up (unless they win the Super Bowl and pick 32nd next year).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to CBS Sports\u2019 Jeff Kerr, the\u00a0New England Patriots\u00a0have the most 2026 draft picks with 10. But that doesn\u2019t take into account compensatory selections.<\/p>\n<p>Kaboly implied the Steelers may gain four compensatory draft picks in the 2026 draft. That extra capital could play a huge role in the team moving up the board for a signal-caller.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Steelers Looking Ahead to 2026 NFL Draft<\/h2>\n<p>NFL draft analysts have criticized\u00a0the Steelers over the past week for not addressing quarterback before the sixth round.\u00a0FOX Sports\u2019 Colin Cowherd has argued\u00a0the team made a mistake prioritizing Rodgers this offseason over\u00a0Shedeur Sanders.<\/p>\n<p>Draft analysts regarded Sanders as a first-round pick, but in the draft, Sanders fell to the fifth round. The Steelers passed on the Colorado quarterback three times.<\/p>\n<p>But if Kaboly is correct, Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan have the long game in mind.<\/p>\n<p>The Steelers not drafting Sanders is a strong sign the team was not sold on him as a top quarterback prospect. With no other elite prospects behind center after\u00a0Cam Ward, Khan addressed the team\u2019s other top needs before the sixth round.<\/p>\n<p>Pundits regarded the 2025 quarterback class as a weak group. The last time the Steelers selected a signal-caller in a \u201cweak\u201d quarterback class, they landed\u00a0Kenny Pickett. Pittsburgh traded Pickett less than two years after drafting him.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of trying to find the best quarterback of a weak group, the Steelers could go all-in on a strong 2026 quarterback class.<\/p>\n<p>In 2004, the Steelers drafted the third quarterback of the draft, landing Ben Roethlisberger. \u201cBig Ben\u201d is expected to join the Pro Football Hall of Fame when eligible, as could Eli Manning and Philip Rivers, who went off the board before Roethlisberger in the same draft.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Will Mike Tomlin Be All-In on 2026 QB Class?<\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s be clear, the Steelers aren\u2019t going to tank the 2025 campaign. If losing on purpose is the only way fans consider Pittsburgh \u201call-in\u201d on getting a quarterback in 2026, then Mike Tomlin isn\u2019t going to be \u201call-in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But besides losing on purpose, Kaboly sees the Steelers as fully planning on getting a franchise quarterback next spring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do believe they will be all in, but the right guy would have to be there,\u201d\u00a0Kaboly wrote. \u201cThere are a lot of variables associated with [trading up], with the biggest one being how far they would have to move up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook at what the Jags gave up moving from fifth overall to second last week to grab Travis Hunter \u2013 basically a first-round pick next year and the 36th overall this year. That\u2019s to move three spots.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The better pick the Steelers earn in 2026, the more likely they can either draft the quarterback they like or trade up for him.<\/p>\n<p>Again, that doesn\u2019t mean they are going to lose on purpose. But it does mean that Khan and Tomlin will make roster decisions for the long-term health of the organization \u2014 not with 2025 the top priority.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what the Steelers appear to be doing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Pittsburgh Steelers insider Mark Kaboly wrote head coach Mike Tomlin and the team are eyeing a big move at quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft. The&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Steelers Eyeing \u2018Big Move\u2019 to Land Top-End Quarterback: Insider.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=45514\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Steelers Eyeing \u2018Big Move\u2019 to Land Top-End Quarterback: Insider.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Pittsburgh Steelers insider Mark Kaboly wrote head coach Mike Tomlin and the team are eyeing a big move at quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft. 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