Steelers' draft blunder hands receiver Makai Lemon to Eagles
There are infants old enough to remember when the Steelers were a model NFL organization.
But it's been a rough last 12 months, made infinitely worse Thursday night by general manager Omar Khan, who embarrassingly was on the phone with receiver Makai Lemon, telling him that he would be their first-round pick (No. 21) when another line rang in Lemon's camp.
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.
"Hey, why is Philly calling?" Lemon asked Khan.
A voice identified by ESPN as belonging to Lemon's agent said, 'This is Philly. They just traded for you. Philly's picking you right now.'"
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.
"We feel really great that he was still there when we were picking," Khan said. "You trust your board. The way it shook out, it brought us to the position. It was the right pick for us."
Khan said that he had opportunities to trade up and trade down but didn't want to move away from Iheanachor. Riiiight.
"All those things that happen around us affect the conversations," a shrugging Khan said. "That's just the draft."
