The Pittsburgh Steelers head into the 2026 NFL season in full rebuild mode under first-year head coach Mike McCarthy. The franchise aggressively overhauled its roster this offseason, signing Michael Pittman Jr. and Rico Dowdle and adding veteran pieces across the board. With Aaron Rodgers reportedly in the fold at quarterback and an offensive-minded coach calling the shots for the first time in Pittsburgh in decades, the upside is genuinely exciting. But beyond the marquee additions, two players who have been largely overlooked are quietly positioning themselves for significant roles, and those who identify them early could be the ones celebrating come January.
Here are two underrated Steelers sleepers who could genuinely break out in the 2026 NFL season.
Roman Wilson
Roman Wilson has had one of the most snake-bitten starts to an NFL career in recent memory, and that’s precisely why his 2026 breakout case is so compelling.
The third-round pick out of Michigan in the 2024 NFL Draft missed virtually all of his rookie season with a hamstring injury. In 2025, he finally got the chance to flash real promise — posting four catches for 74 yards and a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football in Week 8, then adding two more catches and another score against the Chargers weeks later. He finished with 12 receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns on just 21 targets, averaging 13.8 yards per reception. The efficiency was clearly there. The opportunity was not.
Everything about 2026 sets Wilson up for that leap. New head coach Mike McCarthy runs an offense far more receptive to slot-speed weapons and multi-level route runners — a profile Wilson fits naturally. Steeler Nation notes that with only rookie Germie Bernard as his primary competition for the WR3 role, Wilson has the clearest path to consistent snaps of his career.
Former Steeler Ben Roethlisberger put it bluntly on his podcast: “What are we doing with Roman Wilson?”, calling him a player who deserves a real opportunity. Heading into his third year, finally healthy, in a system that values his skill set, the ingredients are all in place.
Kaleb Johnson
Kaleb Johnson’s rookie season was a disaster, and he’ll be the first one to admit it. But the story is far from over.
The Steelers selected Johnson in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 83rd overall, out of Iowa, where he posted one of the most dominant single seasons in program history: 1,537 rushing yards and 23 total touchdowns in 2024 alone, earning All-American honors. He arrived with legitimate three-down potential. Then a costly special teams blunder in Week 2, letting a kickoff bounce into the end zone, recovered for a Seattle Seahawks touchdown, put him firmly in the doghouse. He finished with just 69 rushing yards on 28 carries and was a healthy scratch for the final three games of the season.
Year 2 looks dramatically different. With Kenneth Gainwell gone and a new offensive staff installed under McCarthy, Johnson showed up to OTAs earning first-team repetitions and drawing serious praise. Beat writer Jim Wexell noted that Johnson “seems like a player eager to rectify past errors” and that “his ability to catch passes has significantly improved” heading into the new season. Sports Illustrated called him “the forgotten second-year weapon” for Pittsburgh, a player who was expected to contribute immediately in 2025 but never truly got that chance. Behind Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle, Johnson may not lead the backfield in raw carries, but in a receiving and change-of-pace role, his Iowa pedigree and explosive athleticism make him one of the most intriguing under-the-radar names in the entire AFC North.
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