Now that the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, we know that the Pittsburgh Steelers were ready to pick USC wide receiver Makai Lemon before the Philadelphia Eagles traded up and poached him while the team was on the phone with Lemon. An embarrassing as the host city of the draft for sure but it gets worse.
Per Steelers radio personality Andrew Fillipponi, one Steelers insider who he didn't name, had a rough characterization for what happened with the Steelers that ended up landing them Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor instead of Lemon.
"You know when the clock runs out on you in a fantasy football draft. And it autopicks a guy you don't want. That's what happened to the Steelers tonight."
What a quote from a Steelers insider:"You know when the clock runs out on you in a fantasy football draft. And it auto picks a guy you don't want. That's what happened to the Steelers tonight."π
β Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) April 24, 2026
This is the most accurate, hilarious and uncomfortable way to explain why the Steelers missed on a blue-chip wide receiver and landed a project right tackle. Of course General Manager Omar Khan and head coach Mike McCarthy spun the whole thing to the media and made it seem like it was all an "I meant to do that" kind of moment even though we all know it wasn't.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers insider characterizes embarrassing draft mistake