Tankathon’s latest 2027 NFL mock draft has Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin coming off the board at No. 44 overall, the 12th pick of the second round to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
For the Steelers, the goal will be to replace Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers, 42, is in a season framed as his last. He has completed 47 of 79 passes for 408 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the first two weeks of this season.
The Steelers kept four quarterbacks — Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar — and none of the younger three is locked in as the next franchise face.
Sayin is listed at 6-foot-1 and 214 pounds. Tankathon ranks him 31st overall and sixth among quarterbacks.
The 2026 numbers keep climbing. After four games he is 83 of 115 for 1,206 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception, a 72.2 completion rate. On Saturday he was 27 of 36 for 367 yards and four scores with a rushing touchdown in a 42-19 win over Illinois.
“Last week there were opportunities for me to extend the play and get us conversions on third down in the red zone,” Sayin said after that game. “He’s just coaching hard, and he coaches the quarterbacks hard. We wouldn’t want it any other way.”
That follows a 2025 season in which he completed 77.0 percent of his passes for 3,610 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions, finished fourth in Heisman voting and earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Career totals: 4,533 yards, 39 touchdowns and nine interceptions at a 75.1 percent clip.
Accuracy is the calling card. Size and mobility are the knocks. Evaluators who like him talk about a high floor. Evaluators who hesitate talk about a capped ceiling and limited creation outside the pocket.
A second-round quarterback behind Rodgers is the same succession idea the Steelers have circled for two drafts. Allar was last year’s developmental pick. Adding Sayin would be a bet that Ohio State efficiency translates when the pocket collapses in the AFC North.
Manning, Dante Moore and C.J. Carr sit higher on most boards. Sayin is the next name — productive, young enough to sit a year, already tested against Texas.
Tankathon updates after every game and factors need. Pittsburgh’s record will move the pick. The quarterback room will not look finished if Rodgers walks away and Allar is still a project.
The heir-apparent label is easy after a 367-yard afternoon. Earning it in Pittsburgh would mean a year on the headset, then replacing a four-time MVP.
The mock has the Pittsburgh Steelers taking that swing in Round 2.
