It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers — despite trading for Michael Pittman Jr. this offseason and extending him — have a glaring need at the receiver position behind Pittman and DK Metcalf.
That has the Steelers as a popular landing spot for a receiver in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. They are consistently connected to the likes of Washington’s Denzel Boston, Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson, Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr. and more.
One name that is starting to generate more buzz, especially after an official pre-draft visit Thursday, is USC wide receiver Makai Lemon. Considered one of the top receivers in the class, the expectation is Lemon will go inside the top 20, which would necessitate a trade up from the Steelers under GM Omar Khan.
Despite the pre-draft visit and the real interest in Lemon, the Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo said during multiple appearances on 93.7 The Fan this week that he doesn’t believe Pittsburgh will entertain trading up for a receiver like Lemon.
“Well guys, I suppose you have to allow for it. But honestly, in a receiver draft like this where you can get like a starting caliber player through the second round, maybe even into the third round because we’re talking about maybe the Steelers trying to get a slot guy, I don’t know if the Steelers would wanna make that move,” Fittipaldo said regarding a trade up for a receiver, according to audio via The Fan. “But they have all these draft picks. They got 12 draft picks. Maybe they feel really strong about a player they can move up to get him.
“So I think you have to allow for the possibility. But as I sit here today, I don’t think they would do that for receiver,” Fittipaldo added.
This receiver class has been hyped up as very deep and talented. NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah has spoken about the depth of the class consistently, calling it one of the deepest ever. Based on the talent available, that certainly holds up.
There should be players in the second and third rounds who end up being solid starters and true No. 2 weapons in the NFL, so the Steelers might not have to trade up for a name like Lemon, or maybe even Tyson, to address the position.
But if they do feel strongly about a guy like Lemon, why not use some picks to go up and get him? The Steelers have the draft capital at their disposal to be aggressive and address the position in a major way.
The trade for Pittman was a great bit of business, so why stop there? Lemon can play in the slot or on the perimeter. He compares favorably to a power slot like Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown, another former USC star. That would give the Steelers the flexibility to move Metcalf and Pittman all over the formation, attacking defenses through the air under first-year head coach Mike McCarthy.
It makes sense, but Fittipaldo doesn’t see it happening.
“I don’t know that they’re gonna trade up at all. Trading up, you’re typically going up for a left tackle like they did with Broderick Jones, like a special player, an edge rusher or somebody like that. And this receiver draft is so deep that I don’t know that you would have to do that,” Fittipaldo said. “You can get a receiver in the second round, third round who could be very, very good as well. So, maybe there is one guy who is super high on their board that they would do that for.
“But I’m just telling you, typically receiver is not a position that teams move up for, and especially so in a year like with this where there could be like 15, even 18 receivers drafted in the top 100 picks of this draft,” Fittipaldo said.
It might not happen. Maybe it shouldn’t. But just because most teams don’t trade up for a receiver doesn’t mean the Steelers shouldn’t, especially if they feel strongly about a guy like Lemon. If they believe in him, move the picks necessary to go up and land him. It would fill a major need for the team.
The Steelers move to the beat of their own drum. They always have. We’ll see if they buck the standard in the NFL when it comes to the receiver position in the upcoming draft.
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