The Pittsburgh Steelers have added to their stable of 2026 NFL draft picks, but it has come at the expense of trading wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys.
According to ESPN's Todd Archer, the Steelers are receiving a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick for Pickens, and they are sending back a 2027 sixth-rounder.
With the Steelers adding that third-round pick, the team is now projected to have 12 draft selections overall in 2026, including at least one in every round, and also a whopping three in the third round.
Here's how things shake out after the Pickens trade.
Steelers 2026 NFL draft picks
- Round 1
- Round 2
- Round 3
- Round 3 (from DAL)
- Round 3 (comp pick)
- Round 4
- Round 4 (comp pick)
- Round 5
- Round 5 (comp pick)
- Round 6
- Round 6 (comp pick)
- Round 7
The projected part of that list comes from the compensatory selections, which are still up in the air.
However, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com projects the Steelers to get a comp pick in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds next year after the team lost comp qualifying free agents in Dan Moore, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, James Daniels, Donte Jackson and Najee Harris, and only added Malik Harrison and Mason Rudolph.
Along with Zierlein, Over The Cap is also predicting that the Steelers will get those same four comp picks, so the chance remains high Pittsburgh will end up with 12 picks in total.
Having such a stable of picks is great for a few reasons.
For starter, making trades involving draft picks won't hurt as much with the Steelers having so many. Adding to that, Pittsburgh can add a ton of youth to its roster over the course of the three-day event next year, which will help the team push forward into the future.
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