The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Indiana tight end Riley Nowakowski in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Our staff weighs in with their thoughts on the pick.

Ryland Bickley: Here’s your TE3/FB for Mike McCarthy. Nowakowski probably would’ve been a “my guy” in this draft class if I had been able to watch him more. He’s an extremely high-effort run blocker with solid mobility who should be able to find a role on offense right away. Nowakowski is a bit undersized for a tight end and his testing is just OK, but as a fullback I like the pick. We can quibble a bit with taking a returner and fullback with the team’s latest two picks, but in the fifth round you can’t complain about good football players. Grade: B+

Mike Nicastro: Nowakowski is a perfect replacement for Connor Heyward because of his versatility. He’ll play tight end, fullback, and can contribute on special teams. He played a pivotal role on Indiana’s National Championship run – the guy just feels like a winner. Although it still feels like a pick based more on need opposed to value, I like this one much better than Wetjen. Grade: B+

Alex Hanczar: Pittsburgh adds yet another big school player in the form of 2026 National Champion Riley Nowakowski. The departures of Jonnu Smith and Connor Heyward led many to believe the Steelers would add depth at the position and here it is. Aside from solely playing TE, Nowakowksi will likely fill the Heyward role at the FB position. At 6-foot-two 250 pounds, I would not be surprised to see the former Hoosier lineup under center for the ‘tush push’ for the black and gold. Grade: B

Joey Bray: Welcome back Connor Heyward. In all seriousness, Riley Nowakowski is an interesting pick for the Steelers. They needed to take another tight end, but Nowakowski is more of a fullback type. He played a blocking role for Indiana last year when he did line up a tight end, although he’s 32 catches last season were more than he had in his previous four collegiate seasons combined. Nowakowski isn’t particularly fast or dynamic and doesn’t have the size to be a legit receiving threat. He is a good football player and it makes sense that Mike McCarthy would take a fullback, but taking a return man and fullback back-to-back in the mid rounds is an curious use of resources. Grade: C-

Ryan Parish: As harsh as I was on using a 4th rounder on a kick returner-only player, I’m to the moon for this selection. I highlighted Nowakowski in my Tight End draft gems list as a perfect fit for the John Kuhn/Hunter Luepke FB role in Mike McCarthy’s offense. Nowakowski is short for a tight end but perfect for a blocker for a power run scheme. He’s also gotta decent hands and tackle-breaking ability for underneath routes that should make Aaron Rodgers happy. This was a meat and potatoes pick, and yet another sign that the Steelers are veering into a gap/power running scheme. Phenomenal fit. Grade: A++

Jarrett Bailey: The Steelers were always going to take a tight end, being that they released Jonnu Smith and didn’t bring back Connor Heyward. Nowakowski will play that Heyward role. Special teams and No. 3 tight end/fullback. Not great. Not abysmal. Fine. Grade: C

Temperatures will warm into the 50s for much of the state unless you’re at the shoreline or near the New York border.

Rain showers will begin in southwest Connecticut this afternoon before slowly spreading to the east through the evening

Much of the state will see rain tonight unless you’re in the far northeast corner of Connecticut.

A few showers could linger in southern and southeastern Connecticut tomorrow morning.

Clouds will linger through much of Sunday with temperatures in the 50s for more of the state.

Monday and Tuesday will be sunnier and seasonal with temperatures well into the 60s.

Cloud cover and rain chances return by the middle of the week.

1893 wreck inspires current court case.

Carrie Jones

Apr 25, 2026

MOUNT DESERT ISLAND—Back in April 1893, the Delhi, a two-mastered schooner sank as it was leaving Somes Sound.

Last week, the state asked a judge for possession of that shipwreck, which is still beneath the water.

According to an 1893 edition of the Ellsworth American, the Delhi sank in 25 fathoms of water. “In beating out of the Sound, she struck a heavy cake of ice and foundered almost immediately, the crew having barely time to escape in their boat,” the short, paragraph-long report reads.

There were 32,000 Baltimore pavers on board that had been loaded by Campbell & Macomber of Quarryville.

Campbell & Macomber had a granite quarry in Mount Desert. At the time, its granite had been used to construct banks and libraries throughout the northeastern portion of the United States.

“In March 2024, JJM LLC filed a salvage rights claim to the ship in U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor,” Marie Weidmayer of the Bangor Daily News wrote earlier this week. ”The company is seeking ownership rights to the wreckage, but the state challenged that claim, saying that federal law has established that unclaimed shipwrecks lying in state waters are the property of the state.”

The state, Weidmayer reported, hoped for a jury trial. However, Judge John Nivison will instead have a written opinion about the case.

No company has claimed the ship’s title, according to Assistant Attorney General Lauren Parker, Weidmayer reported. This, Parker argued, means the ship is abandoned.

“We are talking about a pile of stones underneath the pile of trash,” Weidmayer quoted JJM attorney Ben Ford as saying. “This is not a shipwreck in the sense that one might imagine a shipwreck to be. The Delhi is no longer there.”

Part of the issues are a dispute over how much of the boat exists; how much is not embedded in the floor; and whether or not it would require more than hand tools to remove.

“A JJM diver was able to pick up a granite paver by hand and return it to the surface in a basket, Ford said. There are definitely pavers on the surface of the ocean floor, but some may be under garbage that has accumulated on top of the wreck, he said,” Weidmayer wrote.

According to Weidmayer, the salvage company wants to recover pavers and artifacts, which it would donate to museums.

“The salvage firm filed suit in September against the National Park Service after the service determined the shipwreck is eligible for listing in the National Register. That lawsuit is still pending,” Weidmayer wrote.

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