The Pittsburgh Steelers ’ draft day snafu with Makai Lemon will be featured on ESPN’s NFL draft special , The Pick Is In .
ESPN got special access to the Las Vegas Raiders , Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys draft rooms. The Cowboys traded with division rival the Philadelphia Eagles at 20th overall, and the Eagles sniped Lemon away from the Steelers.
The Steelers were on the phone with Lemon when the Eagles were considering the trade, with Philly unable to get ahold of him. The Eagles eventually made the trade anyway.
The draft day drama will be from the Cowboys’ perspective in ESPN’s special. There was speculation that owner Jerry Jones tried to get back at former head coach Mike McCarthy.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris reported that he heard the Steelers were “pissed” about what went down. Harris theorized that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones purposely ruined the Steelers’ draft plans to spite McCarthy, who’d coached America’s Team from 2020-24. Jones shot down such a thought, saying, “I don’t want to get on their bad side. I’m sorry if they’re mad. But, boy, I’ll tell you what, we’ve had it happen to us a bunch of times. It traded right out from under us. That’s why we (traded) those (fifth-round picks to move up to get Caleb Downs ).”
Steelers president Art Rooney II brushed off the notion that the Cowboys tried to get payback on McCarthy during an appearance on Steelers Nation Radio on Saturday.
“I mean, look, it happens,” Rooney said . “I can’t tell you how many times that you’re ready to make a pick and the team in front of you takes a guy, so it happens all the time in every draft. You go into every pick with a short list of more than one guy, so it wasn’t anything unusual in terms of the way drafts unfold, and we’re happy to have Max.
“He certainly was high on our list, and a great addition to the line and, to be honest with you, if you would’ve asked me before the draft, ‘What position do you think you’ll take in this draft?’ I would’ve told you offensive line, so it kinda worked out.”
Mike Sando of The Athletic reports that multiple unnamed sources claim that it was not the first time the Steelers called a prospect before being on the clock.
“They think they are tying up the phone lines so the other team moves on because they can’t get in touch with the player,” one unnamed executive told Sando. “All it takes is you to call the player, and if another team calls the agent and they’re like, ‘Oh, he’s on the phone with so-and-so,’ now they know who you’re picking.”
Another unnamed executive blasted the Steelers for calling prospects when they’re not on the clock.
“You don’t make the call until you’re on the clock,” the unnamed executive said. “It’s crazy.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : ESPN to Feature Steelers Draft Day Drama From Cowboys Perspective
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