The 2026 NFL Draft has finally arrived, and one Pittsburgh Steelers legend offered his former team a clear-cut strategy — address the quarterback position and trade up.

Speaking with NFL reporter Jarrett Bailey, Jerome Bettis shared his ideal draft plan for the Steelers, pushing for a quarterback to be drafted on Day 2 or 3. He also called on the Steelers to trade up in the first round for an offensive lineman.

“I don’t have a problem with the Aaron Rodgers project in terms of this year,” Bettis said. “But I do believe [the Steelers should] go and maybe in the latter rounds, in the third, fourth, fifth round. Maybe you get one of those quarterbacks and maybe you are able to then develop them to a degree where next year you either have a quarterback or you’re going to get a quarterback [in the 2027 draft]. So, that way, you’re not in the same quagmire that you’re in every year, not having a franchise quarterback. …

"This year, I would love to see if they could move up five or six slots. There’s a couple offensive linemen that I think they could really utilize. Unfortunately, they may not be there. So that’s my fear is that they miss out on one of these really good offensive linemen."

Some fans are clamoring for the Steelers to move up for a top-tier prospect like offensive guard Vega Ioane or offensive tackle Spencer Fano, especially given Pittsburgh's league-leading 12 picks in the draft. It's clear that if Bettis had his way, this would be the route the Steelers would take.

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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers should draft QB, trade up for OL, says Jerome Bettis