Steelers, Outplayed by Eagles at 2026 NFL Draft, Should Have Seen Makai Lemon Mess Coming

Steelers, Outplayed by Eagles at 2026 NFL Draft, Should Have Seen Makai Lemon Mess Coming originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh . Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here . One need not rely on the reporting of Ian Rapoport to believe the Steelers did not get their first choice in executing the No.

21 overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. Rapoport was there first, on the NFL Network not long after that pick was made, and he delivered the news the team had been on the telephone with wideout Makai Lemon while waiting for the Cowboys to exercise pick No. 20.

MORE: Full List of Steelers NFL Draft Picks From Rounds 1-7 During that conversation, Lemon received another call in the green room. The Eagles were on the other line. They had consummated a trade with the Cowboys to move up and grab him.

Eventually, Lemon told everyone this himself. It had been plenty baffling when the Steelers suddenly selected offensive tackle Max Iheanachor of Arizona State, a player not among the 30 who visited the team in advance of the draft and not one who fit an obvious team need. As the news developed of how obviously the Steelers wanted Lemon, there grew a sense among the team's fan base that the people in charge of their favorite team — general manager Omar Khan, assistant GM Andy Weidl and head coach Mike McCarthy — no longer could be trusted even to get a lunch order correct.