The Pittsburgh Steelers currently reside at the No. 21 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft first round.
If they want a chance at a superstar, they may have to find a way to trade up the board.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell is thinking that way in a new article released on Monday, and he’s eying the 11th spot. That’s currently held by the Miami Dolphins.
Barnwell thinks the Steelers would trade up for one reason: Ohio State safety Caleb Downs.
“If he falls out of the top 10, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs keeps lingering in my head as a player who could fascinate the Steelers,” Barnwell writes. “Downs has incredible instincts and football savvy. He’s a big hitter. Downs is also a playmaker, generating 12.5 tackles for loss, four picks and two forced fumbles in his two years with the Buckeyes. He’s widely regarded as one of the top-10 players in this draft, but as we’ve seen with prospects such as Kyle Hamilton and Derwin James Jr. in the past, safeties have a way of falling further than predraft boards suggest when teams are making selections.”
This is how Barnwell lays out the potential deal:
- Steelers get: 1-11, 2027 sixth-round pick
- Dolphins get: 1-21, 3-76, 2027 second-round pick
It’s a decent cost for Pittsburgh to pay, particularly that second-rounder next season, but if they knew right in the moment that they could get Downs, it could be worth it.
It wouldn’t be a totally unprecedented move, either.
“Call it a hunch,” Barnwell writes. “The Steelers don’t often make major moves up the board, but when they have in Round 1, it usually has been for defenders they see as future superstars. In 2003, the Steelers went from 27 to 16 and grabbed safety Troy Polamalu. That one worked out pretty well. In 2019, Pittsburgh moved up from No. 20 to No. 10 and took linebacker Devin Bush. Though Bush is coming off a career year, that season came in Cleveland, as injuries limited Bush’s impact in Pittsburgh.”
The Steelers are still waiting to figure out quarterback with Aaron Rodgers, but it’s unlikely they’d do anything with QB early in this year’s draft.
Defensively, though, there are chances to improve, if the Steelers are willing to take a big swing.
