Steelers' belief in their massive rookie class is paying early dividends

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Shortly after hearing their names called in front of record-setting crowds on Pittsburgh's North Shore at the 2026 draft, the Steelers' rookie class did what some do when they find themselves thrust together by circumstance: they started a group chat.

Over the past six months, the chat has helped them navigate the ups and downs of their first season in the NFL. It's also provided them with a place to vent, build relationships and dream about their collective future.

“We all came in at the same time,” wide receiver Germie Bernard, a second-round pick, said. “We all had the same goal (to get to the league). And we're all on the same team, striving to help the team and have an impact.”

Done and done.

Pittsburgh's rookie class was all over the field in Sunday's chaotic 26-19 comeback overtime win against Tampa Bay. Bernard caught a season-high 11 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. Cornerback Daylen Everette, a third-round selection, snagged the first interception of his career. Seventh-round choice Robert Spears Jennings played more than half the snaps at safety.

And while first-round pick Max Iheanachor's growing pains at right tackle were obvious while allowing two sacks, he was on the field for all 79 offensive plays and made sure Rodgers had a clean look on his game-winning 6-yard touchdown pass to Bernard.

“It means a lot to me to have a group like we do, that’s able to show up when our names are called upon,” Bernard said. “It just shows how the organization has to trust in us.”

That's by design. The Steelers raised some eyebrows when all 10 of their unusually large class of 2026 draftees made the roster. It looks like a prescient decision, with six of them already getting steady playing time, thanks to a mix of necessity and maturity.

Asked Monday when rookies stop being rookies, first-year coach Mike McCarthy joked, “I hope it was yesterday. That'd be great.”

While the Steelers won't be confused with having a young team — kind of hard when your starting quarterback is 42 and three of your top four highest-paid defenders are in their 30s — the kids on the roster are proving to be more than just alright.

“It’s been like this for two decades, your young players have to play,” McCarthy said. “And I think when they do have opportunities early, it’s very beneficial. My personal experience has been your younger players are probably going to be playing a bigger role in November, December.”

Considering the way things are going in general for a 4-2 team that has yet to play anything close to a complete game, that doesn't look to be a bad thing.

Letting Nick Herbig be Nick Herbig and Jalen Ramsey be Jalen Ramsey. Herbig, who signed a four-year extension in the offseason, had his first two sacks of the season after being let loose off the edge. Ramsey, who has evolved from an All-Pro cornerback into a do-everything chess piece that can line up anywhere on the field, had a pair as well, all while playing with a broken wrist.

The Monday-morning quarterbacking of McCarthy's late-game play-calling.

McCarthy came under fire on social media for throwing a pair of passes near the Tampa Bay goal line late in regulation rather than running the ball to force the Buccaneers to use all of their timeouts. The Steelers settled for a field goal, and Tampa Bay had enough clock left to add one near the end of regulation to force overtime.

Yet given how Dallas and Philadelphia both lost games on the final play in recent weeks after kicking off with less than 10 remaining, going for the touchdown was the aggressive and right call.

So much for DK Metcalf's drop issues. Metcalf's 11 receptions were one short of his career-high 12 set while playing for Seattle in 2020, with nine of them coming in the second half as the Steelers scrambled to get back in it. While the team would still like to create a little more splash downfield with Metcalf — whose longest grab was all of 17 yards — early concerns over missed connections between Metcalf and Rodgers have largely disappeared.

The return game on special teams remains very much a work in progress. A penalty wiped out a season-best 60-yard runback by Kaden Wetjen, symbolic for a unit that has been unable to give the offense short fields.

McCarthy was walking with a bit of a limp on Monday, a day after he spent halftime in a medical tent getting his right foot tended to after it was stepped on. Asked how he was feeling 24 hours later, he replied, “It's awesome” and joked he was not on the team's injury report. ... Safety DeShon Elliott (knee) could return from injured reserve this week.

312 — career field goals by Chris Boswell, who broke Gary Anderson's franchise record of 309 in the second half on Sunday.

Try to have a successful trip overseas for the second straight year when they face New Orleans in Paris on Sunday. Pittsburgh topped Minnesota in Dublin, Ireland, last season.

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