Glorious night in Pittsburgh, until the pick
It was a glorious night for the Pittsburgh Steelers as Acrisure Stadium hosted the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday.
For the most part anyway.
Then the Steelers’ made their first round pick.
And the festive mood suddenly took a downward spiral.
That was thanks to Philadelphia, which not only is embarrassing the Penguins in the Stanley Cup playoffs — they hold a 3-0 lead in their first-round series going into Saturday night — but stole the Steelers thunder on this night as well with a deft trade to snatch the 20th pick that preceded Pittsburgh’s.
Perhaps someday the name Max Iheanachor will be synonymous with great offensive tackles of the Pittsburgh Steelers. His greeting from the crowd when former Steelers running back and Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis flawlessly pronounced the relatively unrecognized name as the 21st pick of the first round was lukewarm, though.
The night started out in grand fashion.
It you were watching on television you got to hear ESPN’s Rece Davis open the show with “Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of the great football towns in all of the land.”
Soon after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took the stage, flanked by current Steelers stars T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, faced a draft-record throng of over 320,000 fans and spouted pleasantries about the organization.
“We are proud to be here in the city built on grit, built on steel and home of one of the most dominant franchises in history, your six-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Needless to say, the heavily pro-Pittsburgh crowd erupted.
Next it was Heyward bringing out Steeler greats of the past, introducing Hall-of-Famers Mel Blount, Lynn Swan and Terry Bradshaw, along with future Hall-of-Famer Ben Roethlisberger and should-be-but-isn’t-yet Hall-of-Famer Hines Ward, who each strolled onto the stage to a huge applause.
Goodell then officially kicked off the draft with an appropriate “Yinz ready?”
It didn’t take long for the top overall pick to be made as the Las Vegas Raiders, to the surprise of no one, nabbed Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
From there, if you were looking at the Steelers to hopefully have a top-tier offensive lineman or wide receiver fall to them, as yours truly was, it was just a matter of checking off players on those respective lists as the draft proceeded.
As for the linemen, Utah’s Spencer Fano and Miami’s Francis Mauigoa were the first tackles to go off the board to the Browns and Giants at Nos. 9 and 10. Alabama tackle Kadyn Proctor went to the Dolphins at No. 12 and the hated Ravens chose what many condidered the top guard in the class in Penn State’s Olaivavega Ioane at No. 14.
The player I had pegged for the Steelers, Clemson tackle Blake Miller, was snatched up by the Lions at No. 17.
That, to me, left one more top-tier lineman in Georgia tackle Monroe Freeling. Anyone after that, well I’d rather the Steelers grab a talented wide receiver.
On that front, there were still plenty premier pass catchers there.
As for that list, the Titans took Ohio State’s Carnell Tate at No. 4 and the Saints selected Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson — who provided a touching moment when tears came to his eyes after he was made aware of the pick — at No. 8.
That was it as the Steelers’ selection neared.
With two picks to go in front of them, it seemed Steelers GM Omar Kahn and head coach Mike McCarthy were set to come up with what I considered a steal.
Freeling was still there and so was among wide receivers not only USC’s Makai Lemon but also Indiana’s Omari Cooper Jr., Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion and Washington’s Denzel Boston.
Then it all came apart for Pittsburgh.
The Panthers made Freeling their choice at No. 19.
Still, the defensive-starved Cowboys were at No. 20 which meant almost assuredly Lemon would fall into the Steelers lap.
What a great draft moment it would’ve been.
Lemon was there and the Steelers were talking to him on the phone, except the Eagles had other plans. They traded up for the Dallas selection and swiped Lemon from Pittsburgh’s grasp.
The thought then was, alright, big disappointment but get the next great receiver, a position the Steelers have had great success with in the draft. I trusted them to sort out between Cooper, Concepcion and Boston and come up with who they felt was the best of that talented lot.
When it was time for the Steelers to make their pick the anticipation and excitement ramped up even more.
A clip of STYX, whose stirring song “Renegade” is a staple at all Pittsburgh home games, showed the group telling the Steelers that they were on the clock and “Renegade” was then played. A clip of Myron Cope and his invention of the Terrible Towel was shown. Such towels were waving throughout the crowd.
Steelers fans were whipped into a frenzy.
Then there was Bettis, on stage with six youth football players who were winners of the Jerome Bettis Leadership Award, who read the name: Max Iheanachor.
The moment felt like a balloon busting, twirling in the air and then landing in a flat heap on the ground.
What?
It almost felt like, for those who play fantasy football, when one of your buddies is hoping and praying for a guy to fall to him and then when he’s snapped away said contestant panics and grabs someone he didn’t really want.
Even when Davis took a bite of a Primanti’s sandwich, a Pittsburgh staple, and encouraged his fellow analysts to do the same, it couldn’t recharge the crowd.
Let’s be fair to the Nigerian-born Mr. Iheanachor, though. Scouting reports have him pegged as an offensive tackle with tremendous upside. He’s a bit of a project, though, as analyst Nick Saban pointed out, having never even played football until he got to college. Translation: It’s unlikely he’ll help the Steelers much during the 2026 season.
Perhaps in time this will turn out to be an incredible pick.
Steeler Nation, though, especially those in the crowd on Thursday night, seemed underwhelmed.
As was I.
Turning the page, the Steelers entered Friday’s second and third rounds with one pick in the former and three in the latter. Following that, Pittsburgh on Saturday, barring trades, will have two picks in the fourth round, one each in the fifth and sixth and three in the seventh.
Stay tuned Steeler Nation, there still may be a pick or two comeing that will get you genuinely excited.
Rob Burchianti is sports editor of the 缅北禁地 and can be reached at rburchianti@heraldstandard.com