How the Eagles' Makai Lemon pick came directly at the Steelers' expense originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Steelers were already on the phone with Makai Lemon, the call was happening, the pick felt almost done, and the Eagles were already moving to make sure it never got there.According to Ian Rapoport's accounts, Pittsburgh thought Lemon would be sitting there at No. 21. They tried to reach him without knowing the Eagles had already moved up.What the Steelers did not know was that Lemon was already on the phone with Philadelphia when they tried to call, and he was unavailable because the Eagles had just cut the line.Philadelphia entered the night at No. 23 and dealt two fourth-round picks to Dallas to move three spots up to No. 20.2026 NFL DRAFT HQ:Live tracker | Pick-by-pick grades | Best players still availableThat is the Howie Roseman signature.He sees the player he wants, finds who is sitting between him and that player, and moves.
The Steelers were the ones sitting there, and they had no idea it was coming.The Athletic's Dane Brugler drew comparisons to Amon-Ra St. Brown before the draft, noting that Lemon already plays like a pro and projects as a starter inside or out, which may be exactly why Pittsburgh wanted him and exactly the same reason Philadelphia refused to wait.Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy ended up with nothing from that sequence, and one of his former employers was directly responsible for the trade that made it possible.Pittsburgh settled for Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor at 21.More NFL news:Why history might repeat itself for the Dallas Cowboys and George PickensCleveland radio hosts calls out Deshaun Watson's silence at Browns minicampWhat Shedeur Sanders said about learning Monken's system