There are infants old enough to remember when the Steelers were a model NFL organization.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s been a rough last 12 months, made infinitely worse Thursday night by general manager Omar Khan,\u00a0who embarrassingly was on the phone with receiver Makai Lemon,<\/a>\u00a0telling him that he would be their first-round pick (No. 21) when another line rang in Lemon\u2019s camp.<\/p>\n The Eagles traded up from No. 23 to No. 20 to pick Lemon and make the Steelers pay for a cardinal sin: Calling before you are on the clock.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, why is Philly calling?\u201d Lemon asked Khan.<\/p>\n Makai Lemon poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 20th overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. AP<\/p>\n A voice identified by ESPN as belonging to Lemon\u2019s agent said, \u2018This is Philly. They just traded for you. Philly\u2019s picking you right now.\u201d<\/p>\n The Steelers, who were hosting the draft for a record crowd of 320,000 fans, pivoted to reach for offensive tackle Max Iheanachor and then Khan and head coach Mike McCarthy tried to feign like that was the plan the whole time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel really great that he was still there when we were picking,\u201d Khan said. \u201cYou trust your board. The way it shook out, it brought us to the position. It was the right pick for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Khan said that he had opportunities to trade up and trade down but \u201cdidn\u2019t want to move away from\u201d Iheanachor. Riiiight.<\/p>\n \u201cAll those things that happen around us affect the conversations,\u201d a shrugging Khan said. \u201cThat\u2019s just the draft.\u201d<\/p>\n Steelers GM Omar Khan made some curious comments at his NFL draft press conference. Getty Images<\/p>\n The draft blunder comes as the Steelers are being held captive by free-agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers\u2019 retirement consideration<\/a> for the second consecutive offseason, with seemingly no viable Plan B.<\/p>\n And after steady hand Mike Tomlin surprisingly resigned in January, leaving the Steelers to conduct a coaching search for just the fourth time since 1969 and break their mold of young defensive-minded assistants to hire the 62-year-old third-timer and Pittsburgh native McCarthy.<\/p>\n Here are other winners and losers of the first round:<\/p>\n Winner: QB Jacoby Brissett, Cardinals<\/p>\n Brissett would have lost some leverage in his contract holdout from voluntary workouts if the Cardinals wound up drafting quarterback Ty Simpson.<\/p>\n But, with Brissett\u2019s job security increasing after the Rams took Simpson, he should get his raise from $9.19 million, including only $1.5 million guaranteed. No other quarterback in this class poses any immediate threat to start over Brissett.<\/p>\n Loser: Sean McVay, Rams<\/p>\n Could the head coach have sounded any less enthusiastic about the Simpson pick?<\/a><\/p>\n What a strange choice by general manager Les Snead to not have one of the NFL\u2019s top quarterback gurus \u2013 and an annual threat to retire early \u2013 even meet MVP Matthew Stafford\u2019s successor before choosing him at No. 13.<\/p>\n You wonder if McVay wanted a win-now piece for the Super Bowl contenders.<\/p>\n Winner: New York football<\/p>\n The two worst records in the NFL since 2017 belong to the Jets (44-105) and Giants (44-104-1).<\/p>\n Well, the Giants landed two of their top-five players in linebacker Arvell Reese and offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa and the Jets improved their pass rush with David Bailey while getting two dynamic pass-catchers to take some of the pressure off of Garrett Wilson (Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper Jr.).<\/p>\n Both teams had two top-10 picks in 2022 and didn\u2019t turn around their miserable fortunes. Maybe it\u2019s different this time.<\/p>\n Loser: EDGE Rueben Bain Jr., Buccaneers<\/p>\n In the conversation to be picked as early as No. 4, Bain slipped to No. 15 to the Buccaneers.<\/a><\/p>\n Maybe it was his historically short arms. Maybe it was the recent revelation that he was involved in a fatal car accident while in college.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a $27 million difference in being pick No. 4 and No. 15.<\/p>\n Winner: Cowboys<\/p>\n Everyone knew that the Cowboys needed to target defense with both of their first-round picks.<\/p>\n They managed to do it, drafting maybe the class\u2019 best overall defensive prospect (Caleb Downs) at No. 12 because of safety devaluation and trade two fifth-rounders to move up one spot while getting two fourth-rounders to move back three spots.<\/p>\n Oh, and receiver George Pickens signed his franchise tag<\/a> to end a holdout threat.<\/p>\n Caleb Downs of Ohio State celebrates after being selected eleventh overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys during Round One of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium on April 23, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Getty Images<\/p>\n Loser: Bills fans<\/p>\n Imagine staying up until nearly 11 p.m. only to see your team trade down three times and not make a first-round pick.<\/p>\n One of those deals was with the rival Patriots, who selected offensive tackle Caleb Lomu at No. 28.<\/p>\n That can\u2019t work out as poorly as trading No. 10 to the Chiefs in 2017 and birthing Patrick Mahomes as a Bills-killer, right?<\/p>\n Winner: Browns<\/p>\n The game plan was simple: Use two first-round picks to get an offensive lineman and a receiver in either order.<\/p>\n Mission accomplished with right tackle Spencer Fano (No. 9) and receiver KC Concepcion (No. 24). And the Browns added a third-rounder and a fifth-rounder in the process by trading down from No. 6.<\/p>\n Loser: Vikings<\/p>\n Not only did the Vikings make the biggest reach to take defensive tackle Caleb Banks at No. 18 (he was No. 56 on The Post\u2019s Big Board), but they drafted someone who said the quarterback that he wants to hit the most is J.J. McCarthy.<\/p>\n Watch out in practice!<\/p>\n #Vikings<\/a> DL Caleb Banks when asked which QB he wants to hit the most in the NFL back in March, said JJ McCarthy:<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m definitely gonna have to come hit him for sure.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/XvbELAGped<\/a><\/p>\n