Report Leaks About Steelers' Blockbuster Trade That Fell Through On Draft Night

The Pittsburgh Steelers went through an absolute rollercoaster of emotions throughout the 2026 NFL Draft. The city hosted the event and things went amazingly well, but the first night of the draft was a disaster for the Steelers. The organization was publicly embarrassed when General Manager Omar Khan had wide receiver Makai Lemon on the line as the franchise was preparing to draft him, but the Philadelphia Eagles jumped Pittsburgh in the draft order to snag the wide receiver instead. This forced the Steelers to pivot with their selection as a trade between the Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys could not have been anticipated.

Pittsburgh went with offensive tackle Max Iheanachor with the 21st overall pick after Lemon was picked right before they were on the clock. Lemon was highly coveted by the organization, however the team is still very happy with Iheanachor being in Pittsburgh. The Steelers had a few guys in mind that the franchise would have traded up for, and Lemon was one of them. Beat writer Gerry Dulac joined The Rich Eisen Show on Thursday to discuss who the Steelers would have moved up for as well as a big trade that actually fell through on draft night.

"There were three guys they were willing to trade up to get, and two of them were going to be unreachable: the two Ohio State players, Caleb Downs and Carnell Tate," Dulac said. "But the third guy they were willing to trade up to get, was Makai Lemon. When the Rams did not take him, and you look at what was in front of them, let me say this though, they thought they had the opportunity with Tampa Bay to trade up. I think the Steelers thought that with what they saw in front of them, it looks pretty good to be able to get Makai Lemon, and then of course, Philadelphia jumps in front of them."

The Steelers were never going to be able to land Carnell Tate as he was taken off the board with the fourth overall pick. Safety Caleb Downs was picked at 11. The Steelers would have had to give up too much to move up there to land either player, so the team sat back and waited on Lemon. Dulac mentioned that Khan thought he had a deal worked out with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were picking at 15, but Tampa Bay did not want to move because Rueben Bain was still on the board. That is who the Buccaneers wound up selecting.

The Steelers probably would have been able to swap spots with Tampa Bay had Bain come off of the board earlier. He was projected to be a top ten pick early on in the pre-draft process, but there were a ton of concerns about his arm length that caused him to slide down the board. 

Ideally, Pittsburgh still would have found another spot to move up. Even if it was just one spot to keep another team from jumping them, which is exactly what happened. The Steelers had 12 selections in the event to use to move up.

Steelers Are Now A Completely Different Team

Had the Steelers moved up via Tampa Bay, the roster would look completely different. Iheanachor would not be on the team, and second-round wide receiver Germie Bernard probably would not have been selected by Pittsburgh either. It is also fair to assume that one or two of the third-round picks made by the Steelers would not be on the team as well, as those selections would have needed to be used in the trade with the Buccaneers.

Everything ended up happening the way it should have, and time will tell who made the best pick.

What do you think about this reporting from Dulac on the first night of the draft? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

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