As the Pittsburgh Steelers were on the clock with the No. 21 overall pick in Round 1, fans didn't have a clue which direction this team was going to go. The Philadelphia Eagles jumped Pittsburgh by one pick in a trade-up with the Dallas Cowboys to take USC receiver Makai Lemon, leaving the Steelers in the dark.
That's when Pittsburgh stunned the fanbase by turning their card in for Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor.
This caught everyone by surprise, as the Steelers' brass didn't bring in Iheanachor for a 30-minute visit, nor were Omar Khan or Mike McCarthy on hand for his ASU Pro Day. Despite only chatting with Iheanachor at the NFL Combine, this was enough for Khan to pull the trigger at pick No. 21.
While the fanbase's first reaction was the questionable value of the selection, when the dust settled, the focus turned to Brodierck Jones and why this could be a devastating sign for his career.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' Max Iheanachor selection is an awful sign for Broderick Jones' career
Jones struggled with inconsistencies early in his career, as the former Georgia left tackle flip-flopped positions over his first few seasons in Pittsburgh. After finally settling in at left tackle last season, Jones suffered a scary neck injury in late November of the 2025 season.
Sadly, this injury quickly shut down the athletic tackle for the remainder of the season, and we soon discovered that Broderick needed spinal fusion surgery to repair his neck.
Then, roughly a week before the draft, we learned that Jones suffered a setback in his recovery. This news may have caused Pittsburgh to shift gears in the NFL Draft. Though it sounded like the plan was to draft USC's Makai Lemon if he fell one more spot to pick No. 21, selecting a tackle was clearly high on Pittsburgh's radar, and they did exactly that with the Iheanachor decision.
In many ways, Iheanachor resembles Jones. He's a relatively raw tackle prospect with impressive physical tools for the position. Now, after selecting Troy Fautanu in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and taking Iheanachor in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft, Jones could quickly be on his way out.
Worse yet, this could be a sign that Jones is nowhere near ready to suit up. And depending on his health and how long it takes him to progress, there's no guarantee he even plays football again.
It's a given that Pittsburgh won't pick up Jones' fifth-year option by May 1. It only took one pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to make it clear that Broderick Jones won't be part of the future in Pittsburgh. This team appears to be moving forward with Max Iheanachor and Troy Fautanu as their bookend offensive tackles. We wish Jones the best of luck and hope he can make a full recovery.
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