Appearing on The Larry & Big Man Show , former Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert peeled back the curtain on how the draft room operated during his tenure.
"I keep telling the same story and nobody believes me. In our room, if we weren't 100 percent consensus, we wouldn't draft the player," Colbert told hosts Larry Richert and Jay Caufield. "Both those disagreements and arguments and discussions were held over the four weeks, once we get all the final information.
"We sorted through … we went through things up until the day before. We would sort it all out. Myself, Mr. Dan Rooney, when he was living. Art [Rooney II], and either Coach [Bill] Cowher or Coach [Mike] Tomlin, would sit in the room and say, 'Okay, this is what we've come up with. Are we all in agreement?"
Colbert often stated that a draft pick was a "Steelers decision." Everyone had to be unanimous on the selection.
"If we couldn't reach that, Mr. Rooney and Art would gently remind us, 'Hey guys, figure it out,'" Colbert said. "And we would go back and sort through whatever differences there were. Once we came out of that room, it was unanimous. Because everybody got a chance to talk. And if you didn't talk, that's your fault."
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert at the 2022 NFL Combine. — Alan Saunders / Steelers Now
Many were harsh on Steelers general manager Omar Khan for allowing the Philadelphia Eagles to swoop in and take Makai Lemon right before the Steelers picked at No. 21 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. 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, and sniped Lemon away from the Steelers.
The Steelers had a league-high 12 picks, but Khan was comfortable in not trading up. It nearly worked if it wasn't for Howie Roseman.
Some thought the Steelers panicked with the Max Iheanachor selection. The Steelers disagree with that notion, however. They were not just scrambling to make a pick. They believe Iheanachor is a perfect Steeler and are comfortable with where they got him on the board.
"If there's an offensive lineman that was meant to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it's definitely Max. His skill set, to me, that jumps off the tape at you," Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy said during an interview with Adam Schien of Mad Dog Sports Radio on Thursday. "He's definitely built for this. You look at his background, his soccer background, you could see it, just with his versatility. Both in pass pro, and run blocking. When he gets his hands on you, he sticks. And he does a really good job of reacting to second and third reactions. So, I think he has a very, very bright future. We're really excited to have him."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Kevin Colbert Reveals How Steelers Operated Draft Room
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