Truth be told, generally people riding 26-30 lb steel framed gravel bikes don't give a damn about being aero. just like they don't care about speed. or average speeds, etc...
at the same time..... I'd just as soon ride my 26 lb. alloy hardtail than to ride a 26+ lb gravel bike. Swapping out the 800 ish gram 29er tires for a 440 gram 40c gravel tire would make my 29er a way better choice for gravel than those boat anchor gravel bikes.