The Steelers’ fifth-round pick in 2026, Riley Nowakowski was a National Championship tight end/H-back for the Indiana Hoosiers. Now on Pittsburgh’s roster, he’s the lone player with “FB” next to his name.
However, the Steelers seem to be playing him at more than just fullback to open the offseason. Speaking to the media at OTAs on Wednesday, Pittsburgh running backs coach Ramon Chinyoung Sr. was asked how Nowakowski, at fullback, was factoring into the offense. He replied that it hasn’t been the main
focus so far.
“Riley’s been doing a great job,” Chinyoung said per the team’s YouTube channel. “He’s been spending more time with (tight ends coach Robert Kugler). Right now, we’ve been working more red zone, situational football, so he’s been servicing the tight end room more than he has the running back room.”
Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora noted that a May 21 team recap video depicted Nowakowski as a stand-up route runner in the slot on one play. With Indiana in 2026, Nowakowski recorded 387 receiving yards.
If Nowakowski continues to play a good amount of tight end along with his fullback duties, it could factor into the Steelers’ 53-man roster decision-making ahead of the regular season. A talking point surrounding the Pittsburgh roster in 2026 has been that the tight end group looks thin behind Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington.
While new Pittsburgh head coach Mike McCarthy is no stranger to keeping three tight ends as well as a fullback, Nowakowski’s experience at each position could allow the rookie to serve as both TE3 and FB, giving the Steelers an extra roster slot elsewhere.
However, there’s still a lot of the offseason left to go before the team has to make any such decisions. And although Nowakowski has played more tight end so far, he’s still impressing Chinyoung when he gets reps at fullback.
“(Nowakowski’s) had a lot of opportunities to get in 21 personnel (two backs, one tight end) and display his talents as the lead blocker and stuff like that,” Chinyoung said. “His job is to service as many rooms as he possibly can, and he’s been doing a great job doing that.”
