Former Steelers Starter Suffers Major Injury, Draft Picks Take Blow

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have a stockpile of draft picks for the 2026 NFL Draft. The hosts of next year’s events, the team’s general manager has been hoarding these assets like valued treasures over the last few months. It’s also been a factor in which players they’ve let walk in free agency, as Omar Khan is keenly aware of the compensatory pick process the NFL employs. It’s part of what makes him such a cunning GM in the NFL.

Unfortunately for the Steelers, one of those picks is likely to be impacted thanks to injury. Former Steelers offensive lineman James Daniels, now with the Miami Dolphins, suffered a pectoral injury that will keep him out for an extended period of time. The team’s head coach, Mike McDaniels, told reporters that he would miss at least at least a month, but they expect him back at some point during the regular season.

For the Steelers, this means they may lose out on a compensatory draft pick they were counting on. OverTheCap had projected the Steelers gaining a sixth-round pick due to the contract Daniels signed with his new team, but after losing out on a chunk of games, he likely won’t meet the playing threshold required to earn a compensation pick for Pittsburgh.

This is a tough blow for Daniels, who has lost significant time during his career due to injury. A very talented player, he was a strong interior lineman for the Steelers for a pair of seasons before departing via free agency this past offseason. He was the primary starter at right guard for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but a torn Achilles tendon robbed him of his 2024 campaign in Pittsburgh. With the emergence of Mason McCormick, it spelled the end of Daniels’ time with the Steelers.