Steelers Hosted WR Makai Lemon

USC wide receiver Makai Lemon may be a long shot to make it to the Steelers in the first round, but they were among the teams he visited, per Mike DeFabo of The Athletic.

While the Steelers are heading into the draft with two proven starting receivers in D.K. Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr., they have little else at the position. Of their six other receivers under contract, only Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek caught passes in 2025. They combined for a mere 16. The team has done its homework on a few notable prospects as a result, having hosted Lemon, Washington’s Denzel Boston and Alabama’s Germie Bernard. Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr. did not book a “30” visit with the Steelers, but they are reportedly interested in him.

While Bernard may be an option in Round 2, where Pittsburgh will be on the clock at 53, Lemon and Boston are expected to go in the first round. Cooper is not a first-round lock, but he will likely be gone before the Steelers make their second pick. The Steelers’ first choice will come at No. 21, which could be too far down the board for Lemon. Both Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com (No. 12) and Dane Brugler of The Athletic (No. 13) consider Lemon as a top-15 player in this class. PFR’s Ely Allen mocked Lemon to the Dolphins at No. 11.

The Steelers’ best hope of landing Lemon may be for general manager Omar Khan to trade up. That might be on the table for a team with a league-high 12 picks, including five in the top 99. Reeling in the 5-foot-11, 192-pound Lemon, who won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best receiver in 2025, would give the Steelers an exciting complement to the 6-4 Metcalf-Pittman duo. He lined up in the slot over 75% of the time and dropped just four passes in his three-year, 33-game run at USC.

The Steelers are not guaranteed to emerge from the first round with a receiver, but it’s “almost a foregone conclusion” they will at least spend a Day 2 pick on the position, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette observes. Cornerback, safety and guard are other areas they could address in the opening round, according to Dulac.