The Pittsburgh Steelers are off to a 1-1 start and to begin the 2026 NFL season, their rookie class hasn’t had much of a role.
Pittsburgh won the AFC North last year, and the Steelers were looking to build on that this season, but so far, the Steelers’ offense has struggled.
Pittsburgh is coming off a 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots after a 20-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. The Steelers will host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in Week 3 NFL action.
Pittsburgh Steelers Handed Concerning Take on Rookies
The Steelers had the 21st overall pick and selected offensive tackle Max Iheanachor out of Arizona State in the first round. Pittsburgh then used its second-round pick on Germie Bernard, a wide receiver out of Alabama.
The Steelers’ other Day 2 picks were Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette, and Iowa tackle Gennings Duker. None of Pittsburgh’s rookies have made much of an impact, and NFL analysts Chad Graff and Josh Kendall of The Athletic aren’t too high on the rookie group.
“The first-round tackle is only getting a couple of snaps a game, but that might change with how bad the offensive line looked Sunday. Only the Falcons are saving the Steelers from having the worst EPA in the league (minus-42.94),” the article read.
“Fourth-round wide receiver Kaden Wetjen doesn’t have a catch yet but has made an impact as a returner. The best pick of this year’s group may be third-round quarterback Drew Allar, who made the 53-man roster but probably won’t play unless Aaron Rodgers gets hurt.”
With the Steelers in a win-now window due to it being the final year of Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh needed its rookies to have an impact. Yet, through two weeks, the Steelers rookie class doesn’t look great, which is a big reason why Pittsburgh hasn’t looked too good.
Pittsburgh Expecting Tough Game Against Bengals
The Steelers will host the Bengals on Sunday in an AFC North showdown.
Cincinnati is 2-0 and is looking good, so Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy knows the Bengals pose a lot of problems.
“It doesn’t matter who they are. It doesn’t matter what number they wear. We understand the challenges that they’re going to bring to us each and every week, but let’s just make sure we’re cleaning our own house each and every week,” McCarthy said Monday afternoon. “It’s early in the season. It’s two games. When the information is consistent two weeks in a row, you have to pay attention to that.
“We’ve had some mistakes that have been repeated, and those are the things we need to clean up. Football is not perfect, but you train in the mindset of perfection to achieve your goal, and we just have to stay in tune with how we’re doing things.”
The Steelers are 3.5-point underdogs at home against Cincinnati.
Pittsburgh Steelers Rookies Handed Concerning Take Ahead of Bengals Game