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Steelers QB Will Howard.

The Pittsburgh Steelers still have a ton of question marks about who their franchise quarterback will be for the future. But some believe their answer could come in the 2027 NFL Draft.

While the Steelers still await Aaron Rodgers’ decision on whether to return for another season, that decision will do little regarding how the team handles the future at the position. That is unless he decides to come back for yet another season at 43 years old.

At this point, that seems rather unlikely, so it will be paramount for new head coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Omar Khan to figure out where to go from there.

There will be options already on the roster, of course, including last year’s sixth-round pick Will Howard and this year’s third-round selection Drew Allar. The 2027 quarterback class may simply be too enticing for the Steelers to pass up, though, especially if the team is in position to land one with a top-10 pick, like The Athletic’s Dane Brugler predicts.

Steelers Already Linked To First-Round QB In 2027

Yes, there are already 2027 mock drafts, and the early projections have the Steelers drafting a quarterback for the third straight year. Only this time, it would come in the first round.

Some early mocks had Pittsburgh taking South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers or Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby. As for Sorsby, that was before news broke that he was stepping away to address a gambling addiction, which could ultimately end his college career depending on the NCAA’s findings.

Other mock drafts, like Brugler’s, have the Steelers selecting Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker at No. 8 overall.

“A former walk-on, Mestemaker put himself on the NFL radar with his performance at North Texas last season. Now at Oklahoma State (with the same coaching staff), he has an ascending skill set that has scouts highly intrigued,” Brugler wrote.

Sports Illustrated’s Daniel Flick also has Mestemaker going to the Steelers, though at No. 14 overall.

“The Steelers are expected to get back Aaron Rodgers this fall, and maybe third-round pick Drew Allar will show enough to warrant being Pittsburgh’s future under center,” Flick wrote. “But with a deep quarterback class, the Steelers should at least explore their options. There may be one fewer candidate than initially expected, as Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby, the initial pick here, is entering a gambling addiction treatment program and has the NCAA investigating his betting behavior, according to Monday’s report. The 6-foot-3, 211-pound Mestemaker led the FBS with 4,379 passing yards as a redshirt freshman last season at North Texas and has tremendous ball placement and arm talent.”

Why Drew Mestemaker Could Be Intriguing

What should at least intrigue Steelers fans about Mestemaker is the coaching staff helping develop him, namely Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris.

Morris is considered by many to be a quarterback guru. He has played a major role in helping develop players such as Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield and Cam Ward.

That is certainly not a bad list for Mestemaker to join if he has a productive 2026 season at Oklahoma State.

His biggest hurdle in eventually coming to Pittsburgh would be taking the reins from either Howard or Allar. The Steelers staff is currently high on both of them. Allar in particular has already been receiving bold predictions about his future, with some believing he can become the team’s starter in 2027.