Steelers' Draft Strategy Signals a New Era Under Tomlin
Pittsburgh's front office is telegraphing a significant philosophical shift heading into the draft — and it starts at quarterback.
⚡ PGH Sports News — Launching 2026
🏈 2026 NFL Draft: 3 Weeks Away · Steelers Pick #21
⚾ Pirates Opening Day Coverage · Full Season Access
🏒 Penguins Rebuild Tracker · Updated Daily
📰 Founding Member Subscriptions Now Open
🎙️ Daily Live Show · Paul Zeise & Adam Bittner · Noon ET
🏈 Fittipaldo Report Card After Every Steelers Game
📊 PGH Big Board 2026 · Updated Weekly by Batko & Dulac
⚡ PGH Sports News — Launching 2026
🏈 2026 NFL Draft: 3 Weeks Away · Steelers Pick #21
⚾ Pirates Opening Day Coverage · Full Season Access
🏒 Penguins Rebuild Tracker · Updated Daily
📰 Founding Member Subscriptions Now Open
🎙️ Daily Live Show · Paul Zeise & Adam Bittner · Noon ET
🏈 Fittipaldo Report Card After Every Steelers Game
📊 PGH Big Board 2026 · Updated Weekly by Batko & Dulac
PGH Sports News
Pittsburgh Sports Coverage. No Filters. Straight To You.
The Story Behind the Story
The Post-Gazette is gone.
The journalism isn't.
On January 7, 2026, Block Communications announced it would close the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — the city's paper of record for nearly 240 years. Pittsburgh, home of three championship franchises and some of the most passionate sports fans in America, was about to become the largest city in the country without a daily newspaper. A 3.5-million-person metro. No sports beat. No accountability. No voice.
But the paper and the journalists are two different things. The writers who defined Pittsburgh sports coverage for a generation didn't disappear when the building closed. They regrouped. And for the first time, they're building something they own — a platform where the journalism is independent, the business model puts creators first, and Pittsburgh fans get the coverage they deserve with no filters, no corporate mandates, and no layoffs driven by corporate ownership.
Gerry Dulac
Ray Fittipaldo
Brian Batko
Paul Zeise
Noah Hiles
Christopher Carter
APSE Triple Crown — 2 Consecutive Years
Noah Hiles — 6× APSE National Top-10
Dulac · Fittipaldo · Batko — Franco Harris Coverage Award
Longest-Running Prime-Time Golf Radio Show in the Country
100+
Years combined PGH sports reporting
2×
APSE Triple Crown — national journalism recognition
0
Daily papers left in Pittsburgh after May 3
1
New independent platform rising from the ashes
Our Mission
Built to Last.
Built for Pittsburgh.
"Pittsburgh sports isn't just entertainment — it's the connective tissue of this city. Great sports journalism doesn't just cover games; it holds franchises accountable, amplifies community voices, and keeps fans informed when it matters most. We're building the sustainable, independent local sports newsroom that Pittsburgh deserves."
Inspired by the Knight Foundation's founding principle: "A well-informed community can best determine its own true interests."
01 — Independence
No Corporate Mandates
Journalist-owned means journalist-led. No corporate ownership calling the shots. No quarterly earnings calls. No layoffs to satisfy a spreadsheet. The writers decide what gets covered and how.
02 — Accountability
Franchises Answer to Fans
We hold the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins to the standard Pittsburgh fans demand — with the source access and investigative depth that only decades on the beat can build.
03 — Sustainability
Journalism That Pays Its Writers
A membership model that puts creators first, so elite Pittsburgh sports journalism is never again cut to fund a corporate restructuring. Press Forward. Local news survives here.
Media & Academic Partner Program
V
The V Foundation
Dick Vitale Cancer Research
V
The V Foundation
Dick Vitale Cancer Research
Latest Stories
Featured Coverage
In-depth Pittsburgh sports journalism from the best in the business.
🐾 Pitt PanthersComing Soon
🏫 High SchoolComing Soon
Steelers
Pirates
Why the Pirates' Farm System Is Closer to Contention Than You Think
A detailed look at the top prospects who could reshape the roster by September.
Penguins
After Crosby: What the Penguins' Rebuild Actually Looks Like
The post-Crosby era is no longer hypothetical. Here's how the front office is preparing.
Exclusive Interactive
Fittipaldo Report Card
After every Steelers game, Ray Fittipaldo grades every unit. Click any card to read the full analysis.
Premium Members get every Report Card from Day 1, plus Fittipaldo's post-practice notebook and film-room breakdowns.
The Newsroom
The Super Six
Co-founding journalists with decades of elite Pittsburgh sports coverage. They don't just cover the story — they own it.
Gerry Dulac
Steelers Senior Columnist
The most connected Steelers reporter in Pittsburgh. Decades of insider access, unmatched source network, and the voice fans trust most on football Sundays.
Co-Founder
Ray Fittipaldo
Steelers Beat Reporter
Day-in, day-out Steelers coverage with the depth and consistency only a veteran beat writer can deliver. Every practice, every press conference, every angle — plus his iconic post-game Report Card.
Co-Founder
Brian Batko
Enterprise & Draft Reporter
Long-form storytelling meets investigative depth. Big features, untold stories, and the enterprise reporting that sets PGH Sports News apart. Also co-curates the PGH Big Board each April.
Co-Founder
Paul Zeise
Sports Columnist & TV Personality
Bold takes. No hedge. Paul brings the voice Pittsburgh sports fans argue with, agree with, and can't stop reading. Column, TV, radio — he does it all, and now he owns what he creates.
Co-Founder
Noah Hiles
Penguins & Hockey Reporter
Pittsburgh's next generation of hockey coverage. Sharp analysis, prospect tracking, and a deep understanding of the salary cap era that shapes every roster move.
Co-Founder
Christopher Carter
Steelers & Pitt Reporter · Podcast Host
Steelers beat writer, Pitt athletics reporter, host of the Locked On Steelers podcast, and WPXI-TV personality. One of Pittsburgh's most versatile and connected sports media voices.
Co-Founder
Behind the Scenes
The Full Team
Video, operations, technology, and product — the infrastructure behind world-class coverage.
AB
Adam Bittner
Video
LR
Logan Robins
Operations
GM
Gregory Miles
Technology
CD
Chris Dell
Product
The Reading Experience
Long-Form. Unfiltered. Yours.
Premium members get full access — deep investigations, film breakdowns, practice notebooks, and the analysis you can't find anywhere else.
Interactive Draft Tool
Carter's NFL Big Board 2026
Post-combine Top 100 rankings with Steelers-specific context. Pick your targets and build your draft class.
Christopher Carter
Steelers Beat · @CarterCritiques · Post-Combine Update · March 27, 2026
Biggest Post-Combine Risers
Monroe Freeling
OT · Georgia
#31→#12
9.99 athletic score. 4.93 40-yd dash (3rd among tackles). 9'7" broad jump.
Dillon Thieneman
SAF · Oregon
#38→#15
"One of the fastest defensive prospects with some of the best tape to study."
Omar Cooper Jr.
WR · Indiana
#37→#21
"One of the more complete receiver prospects with decent size, good speed and elite ball skills."
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
SAF · Toledo
—→#22
Major jump post-combine. Mid-major safety who tested like a first-round athlete.
Colton Hood
CB · Tennessee
#35→#24
Tennessee's second CB in the top 25. Exceptional athleticism and technique.
#
Player
Pos
Trend
Grade
PIT Fit
Action
My 2026 Steelers Draft
Select players from the Big Board tab to fill your picks.
Draft Grade: —
Select Prospect
Choose which round to draft this player
Subscriber Experience
Live. On Demand. Always Pittsburgh.
Weekly live chats with our writers. Every conversation on-demand after.
LIVE
👁 1,247 watching
GERRY DULAC
JOTCAST
DISCORD
SUBSTACK
Weekly Live Chat — Subscribers Only
Every Thursday · Noon ET · Ask Gerry anything about the Steelers
🔔 Get Notified for Next Session
Fan Engagement
Compete. Connect. Show Up.
More than a subscription — a community with stakes. Pittsburgh fans play together.
Coming 2026 Season
Beat the Writers
Make your weekly NFL picks against Dulac, Fittipaldo, and Carter. Writers post their picks publicly with reasoning — subscribers compete on a live leaderboard.
- Weekly picks: you vs. the beat writers
- Writers explain every pick — that's the content
- Live leaderboard updated in real time
- Free with any subscription
🏆 Season winner gets a private 1-on-1 with Gerry Dulac
Coming 2026 Season
Steelers Survivor Pool
Pick one NFL team to lose each week — no repeats. Get it wrong once and you're out. Writers play alongside you publicly. Last fan standing wins.
- One pick per week, no repeats allowed
- Writers' picks visible to all subscribers
- Season-long tension — every week matters
- Included free with Premium membership
🎙️ Winner gets a private 1-on-1 with a PGH Sports News writer
Coming Soon — Pittsburgh
The Live Event
Yinzer Sports Summit
Steel City Takeover
Black & Gold Weekend
One night. Pittsburgh sports legends, current athletes, and the writers who cover them all — in the same room as the fans. Live Q&A, panels, and the stories that never made it to print.
- Former + current Pittsburgh athletes
- Writers on stage — live, unfiltered
- VIP access for founding subscribers
- Merch, meetups, memories
📍 Pittsburgh · Date TBA · Subscribers notified first
Daily Challenge
Pittsburgh Sports Trivia
Test your knowledge. New questions every day. Can you outscore our writers?
Daily Challenge
Score: 0 / 0
Coming Soon
PGH Sports
Investigates.
Long-form accountability journalism. The stories Pittsburgh's franchises don't want told. Dropping in 2026.
Investigation · Steelers
The Rooney Influence: NFL's Last Dynasty and the Deals That Built It
A deep-dive into how Pittsburgh's founding family shaped 50 years of franchise decisions — and the relationships no one talks about publicly. Sources: former front office, league insiders.
Investigation · Pirates
Follow the Money: The $000M Question Facing Pittsburgh Baseball
Where does the payroll actually go? Internal documents and 3 sources inside the organization reveal what the ownership group has never explained to this city.
Investigation · Penguins
Off the Record: What the Locker Room Sounds Like After the Cameras Leave
Former players. Current staff. Anonymous voices who stayed silent for years. The post-Crosby era internal culture — unfiltered. 6 sources on record.
Get notified when Investigates launches — join the list
→
Membership
Choose Your Coverage Level
Every tier supports independent, creator-owned Pittsburgh sports journalism.
Core
$4.99/mo
or $49.99/year — save 17%
- Full access to all articles
- Daily email newsletter
- Podcast archive
- Mobile-optimized reading
Most Popular
Premium
$9.99/mo
Everything in Core, plus:
- Members-only Discord server
- Live show access + Q&As
- Interactive tools (Draft Board, Report Card)
- Exclusive premium columns
- Ask the writers — direct access
VIP
$19.99/mo
Everything in Premium, plus:
- Direct 1-on-1 writer access
- Live meetup priority access
- Behind-the-scenes content
- Your name in annual credits
- Early access to all features
Join the Community
Premium members get access to an exclusive Discord — live game threads, direct writer access, draft-day war rooms, and a Pittsburgh sports community that actually knows the game.
Live Game Threads
Writer AMAs
Draft War Room
Trade Deadline Alerts
Film Room Access
Join the Discord — Premium Only
Video & Podcasts
Watch & Listen
Daily live shows, post-game breakdowns, and in-depth video features from the PGH Sports News team.
LIVE
Live Show
PGH Sports News Live — Daily at Noon
Paul Zeise & Adam Bittner · Weekdays 12:00 PM ET
24:18
Post-Game
Steelers Post-Game Instant Reaction
Gerry Dulac & Ray Fittipaldo · After Every Game