The Steelers’ final mid-season honor has turned into a clear battle between one rookie who has stabilized the offense and another who keeps forcing his way onto the field.
For this award, the staff combined both sides of the ball instead of splitting things into separate categories. Jaylen Warren already took home mid-season MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, while T.J.
Watt was named Defensive Player of the Year. Rookie of the Year brought the full class into the conversation, and the votes landed on a mix of familiar names: Max Iheanachor, Germie Bernard, Robert Spears-Jennings and, in one case, Daylen Everette.
The most popular pick was Iheanachor, and the case for him was built on one simple idea: the Steelers’ offensive line changed when he entered the lineup. Joey Bray pointed to the rookie’s first start in Week 3 and said the line showed “massive improvement” from that point on. He also said Iheanachor has beaten the “project” label with strong play right away and called him “a huge piece of the Steelers offensive line for years to come.”
Ryland Bickley made a similar argument, saying the Steelers’ offensive success this season can be traced to the moment Iheanachor and Brock Hoffman were inserted on the right side of the line. He noted that Iheanachor has not been perfect, but added, “I’m not sure where the Steelers offense would be right now without the rookie tackle.”
Mike Nicastro also went with Iheanachor, tying the rookie’s arrival to the team’s 6-2 start. After a 1-1 opening, he wrote, head coach Mike McCarthy put Iheanachor in the lineup and Pittsburgh won five of its next six.
Nicastro stressed that Iheanachor is not solely responsible for the turnaround, but said his presence helped steady an offensive line that needed help. He also highlighted Iheanachor’s physical tools, his work at the point of attack and his continued development.
Ryan Parish, another Iheanachor voter, said he was happy to see the rookie beat out Makai Lemon on draft weekend and now deliver on that belief. Parish wrote that the Steelers’ offense was “unquestionably and definitively improved” once Iheanachor became the starter, and said the line is now a strength.
The other major contender was Bernard, who earned support from Jason Aponte and Austin Bechtold. Aponte said Bernard had “run away with this award” after logging just three snaps in Week 1.
He credited injuries to Michael Pittman, Jr and Roman Wilson for opening the door, but said Bernard has earned Aaron Rodgers’ trust and that the connection “evokes memories of Rodgers and Randall Cobb.” He added that Bernard should remain involved “all the way down the stretch.”
Bechtold also backed Bernard, saying the rookie wideout has impressed and won Rodgers’ trust, which he described as close to impossible for rookie receivers. In eight games, Bernard has 32 catches for 284 yards and one touchdown.
Bechtold said Bernard has played basically six games after only a handful of snaps against Atlanta and just one catch against Cincinnati, and he called Bernard’s route tree more diverse than DK Metcalf’s. He also said the Steelers found a gem in the second round.
Robert Spears-Jennings picked up two votes and made a strong case of his own. Bechtold chose him as his defensive-side pick, saying the Steelers continue to rave about his ability and still keep him on the field even after DeShon Elliott returned.
Spears-Jennings has 20 tackles and his first career interception against Cleveland. Bechtold also noted that he is PFF’s fifth-highest-graded rookie at 78.7 and the highest-graded rookie tackler in football at 82.7, calling him a future starter and a player who has helped steady a veteran but vulnerable secondary.
Jarrett Bailey also went with Spears-Jennings, calling the safety position very thin for Pittsburgh and praising the seventh-round pick for being “terrific” this season. Bailey said that among safeties with at least 100 snaps, Spears-Jennings is 13th in lowest completion percentage allowed as the nearest defender, while his yards per coverage snap and yards per target both rank in the top 20. He described him as tremendous value and a player who could matter for years, not just in 2026.
Daylen Everette also drew mention as part of the crowded field, but the clearest trend in the voting was this: Iheanachor changed the look of the offensive line, Bernard became a trusted target, and Spears-Jennings turned a thin safety room into a place where the Steelers found real production.
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