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Pittsburgh Steelers 2026 NFL Draft grades: TE Riley Nowakowski
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
Pittsburgh police are investigating an early morning fight and shooting in Homewood that sent two people to the hospital.
According to information provided to KDKA-TV, around 2:15 a.m., police were called to the 7000 block of Idlewild Street for a reported shooting after getting a ShotSpotter alert totaling 25 rounds.
Once police arrived, they found a woman who was suffering from a graze wound to her leg. She was found at the intersection of N. Lang Avenue and Forest Way.
An early investigation found that a fight had broken out prior to the shots being fired. Officers also observed that multiple parked vehicles had been hit by gunfire and damaged.
The woman who had a graze wound was taken to the hospital by EMS for treatment. Another woman was also taken to the hospital to be treated for a dislocated knee.
Meanwhile, police said they are still searching for the suspect and are reviewing surveillance footage from the area.
Aaron Rodgers’ return to the Pittsburgh Steelers has potential ramifications up and down the team’s depth chart at quarterback.
Will Howard and Drew Allar, who otherwise would have earned a shot at winning the starting job had Rodgers not re-signed with the Steelers, will now battle it out for the backup role.
Because Allar is a lock to make the 53-man roster alongside Rodgers while Howard isn’t particularly likely to be traded or released either, Mason Rudolph is in a position where he may have no path forward in Pittsburgh and thus is the clear odd man out at this stage of the offseason.
Rudolph’s Fate with Steelers Could Be Sealed
It’s going to take a huge upset for Rudolph to lock up a 53-man roster spot over Howard by the time final roster cuts arrive in late August following the conclusion of the preseason.
Pittsburgh knows what it has in Rudolph; he’s a high-floor, incredibly low-ceiling No. 2 quarterback with 34 games and 19 starts of NFL experience under his belt that head coach Mike McCarthy can trust to run the offense if Rodgers is banged up and has to miss any time.
A quality backup is super valuable to any roster, but signal callers like Rudolph who are game-managers with little to no mobility and a lack of arm talent are a dime a dozen.
Having to part ways with Rudolph isn’t going to dictate the outcome of the Steelers’ 2026 campaign regardless of what transpires.
For that reason, it would be hard for Pittsburgh to rationalize keeping him around based on the merit of Rudolph being a veteran and a proven NFL-level quarterback over Howard.
While in theory Allar’s presence and potential makes Howard more expendable than he previously had been in the lead-up to the 2026 NFL Draft, the Steelers would be foolish to move on from the latter unless he shows zero promise of ever developing into a rosterable player.
On that same note, if Pittsburgh comes to the conclusion that Howard cannot at least hold down the emergency No. 3 quarterback role, than what was the point of talking him up so heavily throughout the offseason?
It’s nearly a guarantee that an opportunity or two will open up for Rudolph elsewhere around the league during training camp and the preseason due to injury. With zero upside for the Steelers and $3 million in cap savings should be traded or even cut in a worst-case scenario, Rudolph could very well find himself on the way out of town this summer.
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