With no certainty around Aaron Rodgers' future, and with most of the high-end offensive tackles off the board, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a decision to make. They could have added Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman to the secondary, or gotten a playmaking wide receiver like Washington's Denzel Boston or Texas A&M's KC Concepcion.
Instead, they rolled the dice on yet another tackle in Arizona State's Max Iheanachor, who might be a superstar on paper, but may not be able to fulfill his potential. If that sounds familiar, that's because it is.
Broderick Jones has yet to pan out and will most likely be out for a while, and Troy Fautanu was just average in his first two years in the league. Now, the Steelers add a tackle who might be two years away from being NFL-ready.
The Browns' pass rush should feast against the Steelers
For most of the pre-draft process, Iheanachor was projected as an early second-round pick. The Steelers could have likely traded down and still gotten him. Taking him at No. 21 was a massive reach, even with tackles Spencer Fano, Francis Mauigoa, Blake Miller, and Monroe Freeling already off the board.
Football is about much more than just physical prowess, and while no one can deny that Iheanachor, a 6-foot-6, 321-pound physical specimen, has all the traits to be a star, he didn't play football until 2021. It shows in his tape — and with his 16 penalties in three years in college.
His hand placement is erratic, his space awareness is deficient, and he doesn't seem to read the game fast enough to play right away as a rookie. It's going to take a ton of development for him to play at a decent level, and the Steelers may not be able to afford that.
As things stand now, the Steelers will roll with an offensive line of Iheanachor, Spencer Anderson, Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, and Troy Fautanu to protect whoever is out there at quarterback. The Steelers only gave up 1.9 sacks per game last season, the 10th-fewest in the league, but that number should rise in 2026.
The Steelers tried to make a point of keeping Myles Garrett in check in both of their meetings last season, but he should definitely love his chances against such an unproven rookie. Conversely, if Pittsburgh takes it slow with Iheanachor and goes with Dylan Cook, this selection would make even less sense, as the 22-year-old could be years away from truly being ready.
Iheanachor might turn out to be a great player, and this take could look foolish down the line. Right now, it looks like a desperate attempt to swing for the fences with arguably the rawest prospect in the entire first round. The AFC North got better this offseason, but the Steelers? Not so much.
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