The Steelers saw a ton of turnover in their quarterback room this offseason.
All three quarterbacks on the roster last year- Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and Kyle Allen- are on different teams in 2025. In response, the Steelers added Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson, and rookie Will Howard.
Rodgers is obviously the starter, and Rudolph returned to be the backup once again. There weren’t many expectations for Thompson when he was signed, but thanks to an incredible preseason, the passer made the team.
Howard could have potential, but he was a sixth-round pick and was recently added to injured reserve. With Rodgers being on the wrong side of 40, the Steelers have to be thinking about the future of the game’s most important position.
Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic recently put together a 2026 mock draft, and he has the Steelers selecting Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt with the No. 19 pick in 2026.
Regarding that selection, Baumgardner offered the following:
The sixth QB in our mock, Leavitt plays with much better feet than many of the players you see his age and has enough arm talent to make big throws, off platform and on the move. He has to continue working on footwork consistency while adding strength to his frame, although he’s also a very capable runner. We’ll see if he’s ready to start as a rookie, but Leavitt absolutely has first-round potential.
As Baumgardner mentioned, Leavitt has an NFL arm and can also make plays with his legs.
In 2024, Leavitt led the Sun Devils on a surprising run to the College Football Playoff after winning the Big 12 Championship. The quarterback threw for 2,885 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions last season.
Leavitt completed 61.7% of his passes and also ran for 443 yards with five scores. Even more impressively, 2024 was Leavitt’s first extended look as a starter in college. The quarterback previously played at Michigan State, but only appeared in four games with the team before transferring.
If the Steelers aren’t encouraged by what they see from Howard in practice, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team go for a quarterback in the first round of the 2026 draft. If a quarterback like Leavitt is the selection, it may be better if he sits behind Rodgers in 2026 and takes over in 2027.
However, if Leavitt leads the Sun Devils on another miraculous run in 2025, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him vault up draft boards by next spring.
