Colin Cowherd: Steelers Should Trade T.J. Watt, Move Up to Draft Ty Simpson

Colin Cowherd has a three-step plan to help fix the Pittsburgh Steelers following their wild-card playoff loss and Mike Tomlin's decision to step down as head coach. It includes saying goodbye to another franchise icon. 

In Tuesday's episode of "The Herd," FOX Sports' Cowherd said he'd like to see the Steelers trade edge rusher T.J. Watt as a means to start a rebuild and "take some swings upstairs and on the sidelines."

"A couple of years ago, when I said I'd move T.J. Watt and get more picks, that was outrageous," Cowherd said. "T.J.'s 0-for-5 in the playoffs, how outrageous is it?"

Watt, 31, has been one of the game's top pass rushers since the Steelers selected him in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. But after signing an extension that made him one of the game's highest-paid non-quarterbacks in July, Watt faced some difficulties in 2025. He dealt with a collapsed lung that forced him to miss three games late in the year and while he was still productive, Watt's seven sacks were tied for the second-fewest total in his career.

Still, trading Watt would seemingly land the Steelers an impressive haul of draft picks. He was named All-Pro in six of the previous seven seasons. He also had 46 pressures in 14 games, per Pro Football Focus, putting him on pace to be top-20 in the league in pressures had he played all 17 games. 

But the Steelers already have an impressive amount of draft capital entering the 2026 offseason. They hold all their picks through the first five rounds and have the No. 21 overall pick. They have three third-round selections, getting the 76th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft from the Dallas Cowboys thanks to the George Pickens trade. They'll also get a third-round compensation pick thanks to the contract the Tennessee Titans gave to offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. last offseason. On top of that, the Steelers will have two picks in the fourth round, giving them seven selections in the first four rounds.

With the Steelers already having some extra draft capital, Cowherd would like to see them make a move in the first round of April's draft to find Aaron Rodgers' successor at quarterback. 

"If you're Pittsburgh with all these picks, my takeaway, you give out about six of them to get Ty Simpson in the first round," Cowherd said. "Say what you want, it's something. They have seven draft picks in the first four rounds. The Steelers have the ammo. Go get Ty Simpson. You don't have to move up 25 spots. Move up 10." 

"Any of these coaches, you've gotta have the quarterback right," Cowherd added. "They don't have a quarterback. I want a quarterback."

Simpson, who played quarterback at Alabama, leading the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff this past season, is widely regarded as one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. He recently declared for the draft, although some believe he should've stayed in college for another season. But Simpson is still viewed as a potential first-round pick, with FOX Sports NFL Draft expert Rob Rang recently saying as much. Rang added that Simpson "clearly possesses NFL-caliber accuracy" and "shows more maturity than his experience would suggest" in the pocket, but "lacks elite measurables."

Of course, the Steelers have to hire a head coach on top of all of this. Cowherd has the perfect guy in mind for Pittsburgh, though. 

"Kevin Stefanski, how sweet would that be? The Browns let him go, two-time NFL Coach of the Year, Pittsburgh picks him up. That's where I would go," Cowherd said. "If I were the Steelers, I would offer the job today to Kevin Stefanski. That's what I would do — go get an offensive coach. And if I were Stefanski, I would call Aaron [Rodgers] and say, ‘Thank you, so much. I’m going to go find my next guy.'"

Stefanski, who the Browns fired earlier in January, is one of the top names on the head coach market this offseason. FOX Sports' Henry McKenna ranked Stefanski as the second-best candidate available during this round of the head coaching carousel.

Stefanski is also being treated like one of the top coaching commodities this offseason. He's already interviewed or scheduled to speak with the Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans.

Even if Stefanski isn't the hire, Cowherd believes that the next head coach of the Steelers needs to be in the same mold as him — and that's just the start of what they need to do. 

"I think Pittsburgh needs a reset as an organization," Cowherd said. "It's easy to just blame Mike Tomlin. But the GM step down and they brought in someone that had been in-house a long time. I think they needed a high-risk, high-reward GM. I think they need an offensive coach." 

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