Ravens GM makes strong 'theft' claim about Steelers, NFL

The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up an exciting 2026 NFL Draft in which fans watched the team select 10 rookies. With the draft being hosted in the Steel City of Pittsburgh for the first time in NFL history, the excitement was naturally at an all-time high. Steelers General Manager Omar Khan and Head Coach Mike McCarthy also ran their first draft together. Overall, Steelers fans seem excited, as seven of the team’s 10 selections were offensive players, which is something Steeler Nation has been clamoring for over the last several seasons.

McCarthy is an offensive-minded head coach, and it showed during his first draft in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Baltimore Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta did not sound particularly happy with the value of his team’s draft picks while speaking on The Lounge podcast, which airs on the Ravens’ official team website. DeCosta expressed frustration with the growing influence of consensus draft boards, suggesting they are impacting the draft process and how teams identify true value.

When you have 32 teams all operating with similar goals and access to increasingly similar data, this outcome is somewhat inevitable and likely not as new as DeCosta is making it sound. However, he believes that over the last three years, teams around the league have essentially adopted parts of the Ravens’ drafting strategy, making it more difficult for Baltimore to find hidden value and exploit differences in player evaluations.

"I think over the last three years or so, more teams seem to be drafting the same as the Ravens," DeCosta said. "There seems to be an alignment, in some ways, of boards. Some of that might be based on modeling, analytics, and more data being used; some of that data, which is industry data."

It is not clear which teams DeCosta is truly talking about, but it is clear that he is directing this message at the 31 teams not named the Ravens. It is somewhat ironic for a general manager of an NFL team to believe other franchises would actively try to copy their strategy. The Ravens have been in the Super Bowl conversation with two-time league MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson for several seasons now, but they have failed in virtually every big game.

Because of that, it would not necessarily be wise for teams to fully copy that approach. Still, the Ravens have drafted solidly over the last three seasons, and to be fair to DeCosta, there is a reason their process is respected around the league.

"There were a few players last year that we really liked that consensus boards didn't like, and the percentages might say, 'Oh, these guys are gonna be there in this round,'" DeCosta said. "That's problematic, I think, because we do use percentages and we do do probabilities that players are gonna be there. We're angry or disappointed because then we thought, 'Man, we should've just taken the players where we had them and not where the probabilities or consensus boards thought we could've taken them.'"

For the Steelers, the focus remains firmly inward. Fans and the organization alike are unlikely to spend much time worrying about how the other 31 teams approached their boards or where certain players were projected. Pittsburgh trusts its own evaluations and believes it stayed true to its draft plan rather than chasing consensus.

Steelers Focused On Their Own Value

Overall, the Steelers are pleased with the value they believe they secured throughout the draft. From their perspective, they added players who fit their system and addressed key needs, regardless of outside rankings or league-wide opinions. That sense of conviction is something the front office views as a strength moving forward.

There is some validity to what DeCosta is pointing out about the modern draft landscape, but it still feels unusual to hear a general manager openly frustrated with it. Now, attention in Pittsburgh shifts to the quarterback position, as all eyes turn to Aaron Rodgers and what decision he ultimately makes. Steelers fans are left waiting, hoping for clarity at the most important position on the roster.