The Eagles traded up to No. 20 in the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday night to take wide receiver Makai Lemon, but it turns out that Howie Roseman wasn’t the first call to the receiver from a Pennsylvania phone number. Reports after the draft revealed that the Steelers were so excited to get Lemon, they pre-emptively called him to tell him they were taking him at No. 21, and the Eagles weren’t able to get the WR on the phone after trading up as a result.
Howie Roseman knows former Eagles executive and current Steelers assistant general manager Andy Weidl well, and must’ve known that he’d be looking to snag one of the top wideouts in this year’s draft class. That Lemon was still available at No. 20 was already more than the Eagles could’ve hoped for, and by finding a way to work with Dallas, were able to snipe the incoming rookie from an in-state enemy.
This isn’t the first time that Howie and Co. have fleeced another team during the draft, and it certainly won’t be the last.
