The Pittsburgh Steelers played host to the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night as 300,000+ fans packed the North Shore. The anticipation was looming as Pittsburghers had to wait until the 21st selection for the Steelers to pick their player.
The Pick That Wasn’t
As the draft unfolded, only 2 receivers had been selected within the first 14 picks, creating a slide at the draft class’s deepest position. With the Buccaneers picking 15th, there had been rumors that the Steelers could trade up in this scenario to select Makai Lemon if available, the talented USC WR who has drawn comparisons to All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Thus, the Steelers stand pat, and the receiver continues to fall. The Cowboys held the 20th selection and, while loaded at WR with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, didn’t appear to be a threat to draft Lemon, who the Steelers were eyeing.
The Steelers, and namely, Omar Khan, underestimated their counterparts from the east. All-world General Manager, Howie Roseman, then pulls off a rare inner-division trade with the Cowboys to move up from 23 to 20 and snipe Makai Lemon, who the Steelers were already on the phone with.
Masterclass by Roseman, quite the opposite from Khan. With the Steelers holding 12 draft picks, including 4 on day 2, it begs the question, why not trade up to select your player with conviction? WR has eluded Omar Khan as much as QB has, with the theme being that he is simply hesitant to pull the trigger.
Brandon Aiyuk, Jakobi Meyers, George Pickens, and now, Makai Lemon, to name a few. All WRs were well within the Steelers’ reach, and yet all slipped away. Individually, there are cases on why they didn’t come to Pittsburgh; as a collective, there is no excuse.
WR has eluded Omar Khan as much as QB has, due to flat-out complacency. The sit-and-wait for the problem to fix itself approach. A learned approach from inside the organization, and namely, learned from the top of it, Art Rooney II.
The Pick That Was
The Steelers’ lack of conviction may have cost them Makai Lemon, but it did not cost them a good player. Ultimately, they selected Max Iheanachor, an offensive tackle from Arizona State.
The Steelers fan in me is beyond frustrated with the process, but the draft evaluator is oozing. Max Iheanachor is extremely raw, having only started playing football in Junior College, but he’s NFL-ready and on a Duquesne incline level trajectory.
Iheanachor is 6’5 7/8″, 321 pounds with 33 7/8″ arms, which gives him prototype offensive tackle size. His movement for that size is rare. He blazed a 4.91 40-yard dash at the combine, which indicates his rare athletic ability.
His quickness and lateral movement are shocking, showing the ability to mirror rushers well, while also winning with a powerful first punch. Although he’s not yet a people mover in the run game, he angles himself well to shield defenders using his quick feet, winning with leverage.
I wrote earlier this week about James Campen’s ability to develop offensive linemen. He has a star pupil now. Iheanachor’s ceiling is that of an All-Pro – he can legitimately become one of the better tackles and players in this entire draft class.
