Steelers' Draft Was Nearly Ruined By A Ridiculous Personal Vendetta

The Pittsburgh Steelers have officially wrapped up the 2026 NFL Draft as the organization added 10 new players. Pittsburgh had more draft capital than any other team in the league entering the event, and the franchise could only move off of two selections throughout the three days. The draft went well for Pittsburgh overall, but the Steelers were embarrassed on the first night of the event. Pittsburgh drafted at 21st overall, and General Manager Omar Khan already had wide receiver Makai Lemon on the phone while the Dallas Cowboys still had the 20th overall pick.

It has been speculated that the Cowboys found out the Steelers were planning to draft Lemon at 21, and Dallas called the Philadelphia Eagles, who then traded up and selected Lemon. It was bizarre as Dallas and Philadelphia are in the same division. If the Cowboys just wanted draft capital, the team could have gotten an offer from the Eagles and then called the Steelers to move up one spot. That way Dallas wouldn't be helping out a division rival. Beat writer Mark Kaboly joined 93.7 The Fan on Monday morning, and he shared that these factors make him believe this was personal.

"I think they got caught assuming something that did not happen," Kaboly said of the Steelers. "If you're the Dallas Cowboys, don't you call the Eagles or the Eagles call them and say, 'Hey, we'd like to move up,' then Dallas says, 'Ok, that sounds like a good deal, hold on one second, we don't want to trade with you because we've got to play you twice a year. Let's give the Steelers a call and see if we can get them up here.' That's what I would have did, but it sounds like something was personal to me."

There has been additional speculation that the personal vendetta between Dallas and Pittsburgh might revolve around new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, who was the head coach in Dallas from 2020 through 2024. He was not technically fired, but his contract did expire and the two sides didn't come to an agreement on a new one. Things seemed to end amicably, so who knows if this is the true motive behind Dallas' actions on draft night.

Trading up one spot might seem pointless, but it is a great strategy for teams to use to ensure that the organization gets the player that it wants. Dallas actually moved up one selection from 12 to 11 to ensure that it got safety Caleb Downs, who was supposed to be off of the board by then. This kept any other team from trading up ahead of the Cowboys to land the defender. Pittsburgh should have thought to do this, but an in-division trade between the Cowboys and the Eagles was completely out of left field.

Dallas could have given the Steelers a chance to at least match Philadelphia's trade offer. That way the Cowboys would not have to worry about playing Lemon twice a year, and Dallas probably would have gotten better draft capital in a deal with the Steelers anyway as the Eagles are viewed as legitimate contenders in the NFC.

Steelers Still May Have Landed The Better Player

Pittsburgh missed out on Lemon, but the organization was able to draft offensive tackle Max Iheanachor. He is viewed as a raw prospect with a ton of potential, and that makes sense considering he has only played football for a handful of seasons. Tackle was a position of need for Pittsburgh, and plenty of analysts have shown love for the selection of Iheanachor. 

The young player has a ton of room to grow and should be able to develop for some time before being inserted into the starting lineup.

What do you think about the Steelers' situation with Dallas and Philadelphia? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

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