Paul Zeise: The Steelers fumbled Day 1 of the NFL draft and can't afford to do it again Friday
PITTSBURGH - The dust has settled and the fallout has begun after the Pittsburgh Steelers seemingly fumbled their opportunity to draft the wide receiver they so desperately needed and instead settled for offensive tackle Max Iheanachor.
I don't hate the pick and actually feel bad for Iheanachor as he has become collateral damage in the heavy criticism the Steelers have received since the pick was announced Thursday night.
The Steelers were one pick away from drafting star USC receiver Makai Lemon - who the Steelers were on the phone with - when the Philadelphia Eagles swooped in, made a trade and drafted him. That left the Steelers scrambling and the rest is history.
Iheanachor clearly has a lot of upside and has a chance to be a really good player for a long time, so the pick over the long haul might turn out OK. The Steelers looked silly and unprepared by how it all went down, and that was a big part of the reason it wasn't a good night for them.
The other thing is the pick was a bit of a head scratcher because Iheanachor is a bit of a project and doesn't have a lot of experience playing football.
He will take some time to develop and the Steelers, assuming Aaron Rodgers is going to be their quarterback, should be in a more urgent state of win now. That means they needed to get an impact player in the first round, someone who is ready to help them immediately.
That's why it is baffling that they didn't use some of their excess picks to trade up to grab a plug and play guard like Penn State's Olaivavega Ioane, a safety like Caleb Downs or Lemon. They should have been more aggressive.
And if they aren't in win now mode, then they should stop their flirtation withRodgers, draft a quarterback on Day 2 and let the rookie battle Will Howard for the starting quarterback position.
Clearly the Steelers had a plan leading up to the draft to grab as many picks as they can, and then have a package to offer in order to move up for a quarterback. But this turned out to be a draft that might not have more than one or two QBs who will actually become starters.
Once that plan went south, they should have pivoted to using those extra picks to take one of the elite prospects at a different position of need.
None of that happened, and so the Steelers have added a massive tackle with a lot of upside who may or may not be able to help them this season.
That's why they need to have a much better second day, with their four picks - one in the second round and three in the third - to try and fill their most glaring needs.
Wide receiver is still their biggest concern and they still need a guard, a corner, a safety and perhaps even a defensive lineman. There are reports swirling that they are going to be aggressive and move up in the second round to secure a receiver but the highest rated one left on the board (Washington's Denzel Boston) isn't the type of receiver they need.
That leaves a player like Georgia's Zachariah Branch as an obvious choice, but he is likely to be off the board before the Steelers are scheduled to pick. Branch is small but quick and fits exactly what the Steelers need as a good slot receiver to complement Michael Pittman Jr. and DK Metcalf.
Chase Bisontis out of Texas A&M is the top-rated guard prospect still left on the board but looking at his projections, he will be gone long before the Steelers pick. Bisontis is a converted tackle who is 6 feet 5, 325 pounds and is highly rated as a run blocker and in pass protection so he would be an excellent fit with the Steelers.
Regardless of which hole the Steelers address with their next pick, it needs to be someone who has a chance to be an impact player. And those guys will be off the board early Friday.
The Steelers cannot afford to be passive for the second day in the row. They need to make a bold move or two in order to make sure they get some players to help in 2026. It would be nice if that player is a receiver, but a guard would be just as valuable to them, if it is a player like Bisontis who is not a project.
Grades the day after a draft are usually silly, because nobody knows which players will actually pan out, but the Steelers so far get a C- because of their process and how badly they botched their chance to draft Lemon.
They still have a prime opportunity to have a successful draft, but it will require them to make the right move or moves in the second and third rounds.
____
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 3:00 PM.