With Broderick Jones not living up to his draft slot and battling a major injury, the Steelers are choosing a first-round tackle for the third time in four years.
Pittsburgh brought in Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor at No. 21 overall. This gives Pittsburgh some potential Jones insurance and a possible long-term option opposite RT Troy Fautanu. Iheanachor was one of nine offensive linemen (including seven tackles) chosen in Round 1 tonight.
This pick carried a major “what if?” component, with USC wide receiver Makai Lemon revealing the Steelers communicated to him an intent to draft him at No. 21. The intra-Pennsylvania development emerged after the Eagles traded up three spots (via the Cowboys) to vault in front of the Steelers at No. 20. Lemon went off the board soon after.
“Pittsburgh called me and I thought they were going to draft me and then the Eagles called at the same time,” Lemon said. “I guess it was meant to be. I’m super excited to be in Philly.”
Iheanachor will spend at least the early years of his career tied to a wide receiver, which is obviously not commonplace for a tackle, but big responsibilities may be coming early. Jones is recovering from neck fusion surgery, and a setback may or may not have occurred. And the 2023 first-round pick has not played especially well in stints at left and right tackle. A move to his natural LT spot did not yield desired results before the injury, and Pittsburgh will decline the Georgia alum’s fifth-year option. Iheanachor profiles as a successor option, though it will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh uses him more at right tackle — his primary college role — early behind Fautanu as he develops.
The Steelers were not among a host of teams who conducted “30” visits with the Nigeria native — who began his career at junior college — but they were linked to a possible first-round tackle. This was due in large part to Jones’ issues since being drafted. Pittsburgh had gone since the 1990s between first-round tackle picks prior to the Jones investment, but the team is now flooded with Round 1 options at this position as OTAs near.
Iheanachor earned second-team All-Big 12 acclaim last season. He primarily played right tackle with the Sun Devils but saw time on the blind side as well. With the Steelers stationing Fautanu at RT after his 2024 injury absence, an Iheanachor-at-LT experiment figures to gain traction soon.
“Position flex is huge,” Mike McCarthy said of his team’s first-round pick. “It’s bigger than ever in the NFL. Seventeen games is real. And to add Max to this group is – I can’t tell you how excited we are with the pick.”
12 picks this year. Draft in Pittsburgh. You’d think they’d have made a splash of some kind. Trade up. Get a stud. I hope this kid is a superstar for years to come but another year with a washed up QB.
I give up
Not a lot of studs to be had, but I get your sentiments. I don’t hate the pick. I just don’t love it either.
They could have jumped ahead of Baltimore for Ioane. They should have jumped ahead for the receiver the Eagles got.
Instead, they took another work in progress type. I actually do hate the pick but this is the Steelers way now.
Again, they have 12 picks. Do they plan on using them all? It’s mind blowing. And the draft was here.
All those picks, and they get a OT that is green as grass. Another combine warrior. Don’t trade up in front of Baltimore for a darn near sure fire great OL. Khan has to go. I didn’t like Simpson at this pick, but it still would have been better. I give up.
Have to disagree with you here, my friend
There were studs at every position of need for this team. As has been their recent history, they let them all pass by
Too raw to play immediately. Makes more sense if Jones is going to be forced to retire early. But more impactful players available, albeit at positions of lesser need. Thieneman of Oregon would have been my pick to solidify safety.
What a shock
What a surprise. Usually Baltimore jumps in front of us to get the pick but this year it was Philadelphia. We should have moved forward to get Lemon but Omar was sitting on his a%##<~# and now Lemon is gone. With all this capital and we sit
Should have traded down to accrue more 2027 picks to draft a QB next year
Omar botched this one.
Report is the Steelers had no clue eagles moved ahead of them and took the WR that Steelers HC was trying to call. Absolute clown show in Pittsburgh they didn’t get their guy, didn’t even know eagles had Moss’d them. And still no competent QB solution.
I couldn’t agree more. Kahn got absolutely de pants’d on National tv, and when the draft was in his home town to top it off. I have watched the NFL draft since ‘82, and I can never recall a team being on the phone with a player before their pick, and then losing him because they had no clue what was going on. How can Khan even have a press conference after the draft and even answer this? Total embarrassment.
They have no QB. Not that Rogers is the answer, but what does a 24 year old tackle, that is still considered a massive project, going to do to help his cause this season?
How would they have known? Did other teams know, but the Steelers did not? Sounds suspicious
Notice most teams when it was their time to draft took only a minute to make their pick. Outside if the first pick the raiders, the steelers took there full 8 minutes. That’s enough to show you how mediocre they have become. OH well a once bright sports scene is rapidly going down the tubes in Pittsburgh in 2026. Penguins go down in flames. Pirates starting to show that Kelly is going to make them walk the plank. And the steelers continue to look like an expansion run franchise.
Old98 nailed it. They were going to draft a kid already taken just before them as the Eagles “swooped in”
This really is a clown show. The incompetence is incredible. How is anyone thrilled about drafting another guy whose bio resembles that of Broderick Jones
Again, plenty of studs in the upper part of this draft. You have 12 picks and do nothing. Then select this kid?
What a disappointment last night was. Watching the draft and seeing all the teams improving with the draft. Then lo and behold the steelers turn came,AND WENT. While the new coach was on the phone with a talented wideout. Telling him that he’s going to be a steeler. Then from across the state,the eagles stole Lemon out of McCarthys grip. Now isn’t lemon lucky. Hes going to a team with a real qb. A super bowl winning coach and a stable organization.
Unlike the chaos on the north shore called the steelers organization. Which is run by a guy who’s living in the shadows of his father and grandfather. A clueless delusional little man who thinks a soon to be 43 year old could bring the team back to the superbowl.
Like the great Myron Cope would say,”HmHa” there is something wrong in steeler nation.
You Steelers fans who’ve posted here kill me. I’m a Browns fan, so don’t tell me what a “clown show” it is in Pittsburgh. You guys haven’t rooted for one in over 50 years, you don’t have the personal experience of continued, unrelenting misery as we Browns fans have. There’s plenty of receiver talent in this year’s draft, but the offensive tackle position isn’t as deep, so it was a good idea to grab an OT as they did. You guys are acting like Iheanachor is without talent or accomplishment, neither of which is true. You got a tackle whose play is ascending. That’s a good thing. He’s mobile and athletic. You think the Steelers were the only ones who wanted Iheanachor? Regarding receivers, there’s PLENTY of talent still available. Antonio Williams, Ted Hurst, Bryce Lance, Denzel Boston, just to name a few. And other than Fernando Mendoza, there simply isn’t another quarterback worthy of being drafted in the first round this year (sorry, Rams fans). So, Steelers fans, as your once-and-future quarterback would say, RELAX. You’ve got 11 more picks in a draft that has good talent pretty much everywhere except quarterback, and there’s even a few who are worth taking a flyer on starting today (Drew Allar, Garrett Nussmeier). So, once you realize there’s NO WAY anyone would have ever seen Philly and Dallas make a trade with each other, and cut Khan a break, sit back and enjoy your team do it’s usual good job of drafting actual viable football players as you eat a sandwich from Primanti Brothers and drink your Rolling Rock.
We here in the BURGH dont deal with or tolerate mediocrity. And its not rolling rock. It’s IRON CITY!
Sorry, I’m not a beer drinker. Enjoy your Iron City while watching the always-competitive Pittsburgh Pirates.
When you have a 42 year old QB, and your 3 best defensive players are 32, 32, and 37 this season, and a currently questionable OL, you don’t take a RT who has been described by the 2 best draft resources, imop, as very athletic, BUT 1) a massive project and in the other 2) green as grass that could be really good if he pans out in 3-4 years. Sorry, that makes very little sense, even more so when you had the most picks in the draft to give you much more maneuverability vs other teams, including the one that de pants’d you in front of your home town on national tv. If Kahn had an ounce of pride he would have resigned this morning.
Im in the belief that Andy Weidl,the assistant gm, has more say in player development. Kahn is the unofficial gm,but weidl i think has more say in the drafts. I may be wrong but it makes sense.
Well, I tried. Enjoy seeing the glass half-empty.
Your points are well taken. I like Cleveland. The city. The teams. And you have put up with utter incompetence for far too long. If we are comparing, you’re 100% right. We sound like whiny middle school kids.
It’s not that I have some expectation of Super Bowl runs every year—no doubt some fans do—but jeez, the moves this front office makes are just consistently stupid. That’s all
They had a real opportunity to make a splash selection last night. Again, they’re not going to draft 12 kids, so package some picks and move up. Instead, they sit and wait and when it’s finally their turn get blindsided by another team doing just that, jumping up in front of them to address a need. And by trading with a hated rival.
I get your points, however
The Steelers’ “problem” (which I’d love for my Browns to have) is that they’ve been consistently successful enough for so long that they’ve been unable to select a quarterback to succeed Ben Roethlisberger, and haven’t been able to select the rare diamond in the rough who’s not highly-rated when drafted but becomes a star anyway. To counter this, most organizations employ some version of tanking, to get a higher draft pick when the next superstar quarterback is coming out of college. To discourage this practice, the NFL should probably consider drafting in reverse of a team’s record over, say, three years, instead of just one. Or just completely randomize the draft order of the first round or two every year. Perhaps then teams stuck in the middle will have a better chance at more highly-rated talent. To be clear, I’m not putting all Steelers fans in the category of being unrealistic and ungrateful; just most who’ve posted on this thread, who’ve carried on about the Steelers choice as if it’s a crime.
Not a crime. And I hope the kid pans out. But he’s Broderick Jones 2.0. I’ve detailed my problems with how this all went down. It’s stubbornness mixed with incompetence
Add in the Rodgers backdrop and it’s The Three Stooges.
You mention the QB situation. They have had a number of years now to flesh out replacements Unless you count Pickett, they haven’t even tried.
They have an owner who is delusional and thinks washed up veterans can lead them to the promised land.