PITTSBURGH -- It took 12 years, but the Dallas Cowboys finally got some payback for a draft-day heist with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And they even partnered with their hated division rival to do so.
In 2014, the Cowboys were on the phone with Ryan Shazier and were prepared to take the highly regarded Ohio State linebacker with the 16th overall pick in the draft.
But the Steelers, with the 15th overall selection, interrupted the call to tell Shazier they were making him their No. 1 pick.
The Cowboys were not happy. It probably didn't help they got bamboozled by the team that had handed them a pair of Super Bowl defeats in the 1970s.
A dozen years later, the Steelers discovered what it feels like.
General manager Omar Khan and coach Mike McCarthy were on the phone Thursday night with USC receiver Makai Lemon, a player they highly coveted and wanted to select with their No. 1 pick.
But the Cowboys, who had the 20th pick in the draft, one spot ahead of the Steelers, traded their pick to the Philadelphia Eagles, their top and most despised competitor in the NFC East. It would be the equivalent of the Steelers making a deal to help the Baltimore Ravens.
And all it took for the Eagles to move up two spots and get ahead of the Steelers was a pair of fourth-round draft choices. Their intentions were as clear as the night sky that hovered over the record crowd of 325,000 on the North Shore: The Eagles wanted a receiver because of the rumored likelihood they were going to trade star receiver A.J. Brown.
So, while the Steelers were on the phone with Lemon, the Eagles beeped in and spoiled their plans. They told Lemon, one of the top receivers in the draft, he was their No. 1 choice.
That left the Steelers to take Arizona State right tackle Max Iheanachor with their top pick, the third time in the past four years they used their No. 1 pick on an offensive lineman.
Why didn't the Steelers then pivot and take another receiver, including Indiana's Omar Cooper Jr.?
Here's why:
When they saw a run on tackles in the first round -- five went in a span of 11 spots, beginning at No. 9 with Utah's Spencer Fano -- the Steelers got skittish more might go off the board. And with a rising concern about the recovery and availability of left tackle Broderick Jones from neck surgery, the Steelers needed insurance along the offensive line.
So they took Iheanachor with the idea he will play right tackle and Troy Fautanu will move to the left side. If Jones returns, they have the flexibility of moving Fautanu to guard.
Still, the Steelers failed to use the plethora of draft capital they have available to make any kind of move.
For example, if receiver is high priority -- and it will be when the second and third rounds begin Friday night -- they could have used some of those picks to ensure getting someone even beyond Lemon. And it wouldn't have come at a high price.
The Eagles gave up two fourth-round picks -- as many as the Steelers have -- to move up to get Lemon. The New York Jets gave the San Francisco 49ers a second- and fifth-round pick -- the Steelers have three third-round choices -- to jump back into the first round and draft Cooper with the 30th overall selection.
Granted, it's not always easy finding a dance partner to make a draft-day swap. But the Eagles did -- and the Cowboys were apparently happy to oblige to stick it to the Steelers.