What would it cost the Steelers to trade up in next year’s draft to acquire a top quarterback?

As I write this on Sunday, there is still no news of an Aaron Rodgers signing in Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ quarterback room consists of Mason Rudolph, Skyler Thompson and Will Howard, with the assumption that Rodgers will join them in the near future. Still, we wait.

With or without Rodgers, Pittsburgh will probably find themselves back in the quarterback market in 2026. Rodgers is likely to sign a one-year deal for this season, and no one expects Rudolph, Thompson or Howard to suddenly morph into Ben Roethlisberger. With a 2026 draft class thought to be deep at quarterback, all signs point towards Pittsburgh plotting to select one of those players.

What, exactly, would such a move entail? Unless the Steelers bottom-out and win three or four games, which is unlikely, they’ll have to move up in Round 1 to have a shot at one of the elite signal-callers. In preparation for such a move, Pittsburgh has accumulated twelve picks in next year’s draft. This includes one pick in the first round, one in the second, three in the third, two in the fourth, two in fifth, two in the sixth, and one in the seventh. The exact slot in each round of these picks will be determined by where Pittsburgh finishes in 2025, and several of them are compensatory picks, meaning they will come near the back of a round. But Pittsburgh has compiled more than enough capital to make an aggressive move.

Below, I’ve attached a draft value chart, which NFL teams use to determine how much each draft slot is worth. The numbers represent a value for each slot. In a trade, the value of the assets moving from one team to another would have to be roughly equal to be considered fair:

In the past five drafts, Pittsburgh’s original Round 1 draft slot has been at 21, 20, 17, 20, and 24. That averages out at 20.4. Let’s say the Steelers stay consistent to this trend and pick 20th overall next year. According to the draft chart, the 20th overall pick carries a value of 850 points. To have a realistic shot at one of the better QBs, meaning players like Penn State’s Drew Aller, South Carolina’s Lanorris Sellers, Garrett Nussmeier of LSU, and Cade Klubnik of Clemson, Pittsburgh will have to trade into the top ten, and perhaps higher.

For the sake of this exercise, let’s say they make a move to #5 overall. Using the chart again, the fifth overall pick carries a value of 1700 points. So, whatever trade package the Steelers put together would have to equal roughly 1700 points in value.

Surely, Pittsburgh would include their #20 overall pick in the trade, with its value of 850 points. The 20th-pick in Round Two (52nd overall) has a value of 380 points, so that would go as well. So, too, would their Round Three pick, 84th overall, with its value of 170 points. That puts us at 1,400 points. The Steelers would need to include an additional 300 points of draft value to settle the scales.

There are multiple ways they could account for those 300 points. One way would be to add several compensatory or late-round picks from the 2026 draft. This would probably include another third, a fourth, and maybe both fifths. Doing so would take the Steelers into Mike Ditka territory. In 1999, Ditka traded New Orleans’ entire draft to move up in the first round to select Heisman Trophy-winning running back Ricky Williams from Texas. The Saints subsequently went 3-13 and Ditka was fired. That history could make unloading most of Pittsburgh’s draft class unappealing. Instead, the Steelers could include their second-round pick in 2027 in the deal, which would produce the 300-or-so value points needed to complete the transaction.

A simpler way to do it would be for the Steelers to trade their number one pick in 2026 as well as their first-round pick in 2027. Those two combined would equal roughly 1700 value points. Whether Pittsburgh would be willing to part with a future number one is hard to know.

There are other ways to make such a trade happen, of course. Omar Khan could get creative in moving his resources, including pick swaps, later-round picks from future drafts, or even existing players. The more direct routes, though, suggest a trade-up near the top five would cost Pittsburgh a first, two seconds and a third; or, a pair of firsts. That’s a steep price either way, but it would give Pittsburgh their best shot at landing a franchise QB since Roethlisberger’s retirement.

Ultimately, the reality of such a trade will hinge on how the 2025 season plays out. Will the college quarterbacks demonstrate they are worthy of an aggressive investment? Or, with a year of development, will the Steelers see enough from Will Howard to hold on to their draft capital, build out the roster, and hand Howard the reins? It’s a tough call. The only thing that’s clear is this: should the Steelers choose to make a move in next year’s draft, it will be a costly one. But it’s one for which they’ve accumulated the capital to make happen.

For more of my work, follow me on Twitter @KTSmithFFSN, and tune in to my “Call Sheet Daily” podcast, which airs every Monday-Friday on most major platforms.