The Steelers selected Indiana fullback Riley Nowakowski with the 169th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL Draft after moving up in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. Pittsburgh sent the Chiefs the 161st overall pick in the fifth round and the 249th overall pick in the seventh round to get the 169th pick and the 210th overall pick in the seventh round.
Nowakowski arrived at Indiana for his final season after transferring from Wisconsin, and he made the most of it. He played in 16 games, all as a starter, and finished with 32 receptions for 387 yards and two touchdowns. He also had two rushing attempts for two yards, and both runs went for touchdowns.
That production came after a college path that changed shape but kept producing value. Nowakowski redshirted his first season, played linebacker, fullback and tight end across his career, earned his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Wisconsin and is pursuing a certificate in business analytics from Indiana. He appeared in 56 career games with 26 starts, including 40 games and 10 starts over five seasons at Wisconsin from 2020 to 2024.
The final season at Indiana gave the Steelers a clearer read on what they were buying. Nowakowski made his debut on August 30 with a start at tight end against Old Dominion, scored his first career rushing touchdown on a 1-yard run against Kennesaw State on September 6, added a 43-yard receiving touchdown against Illinois on September 20 and caught a 21-yard touchdown pass against Wisconsin on November 15. His lone score in January came on a 1-yard rushing touchdown against Miami on January 20, and his first collegiate start had come years earlier against Ohio State on October 28, 2023.
The trade up says Pittsburgh valued the package enough to spend two picks to get into position, and Nowakowski’s 2025 season gives the choice a straightforward case: a player who started everywhere he went, scored in multiple ways and arrives with a degree already in hand. The next step is the Steelers’ one, and they clearly wanted him before the Chiefs’ pick came back on the board.
