The Pittsburgh Steelers selected two offensive linemen in the 2026 NFL Draft: Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor and Iowa’s Gennings Dunker. While blocking stats are harder to come by than other positions, I wanted to see how both players fared compared to other drafted offensive lineman last season.
First, here are Pro Football Focus (PFF) blocking grades for the 50 drafted o-linemen:
The best result for the Steelers is Dunker’s 78.2 run blocking grade, ranking 16th (50 qualifiers). Seeing this is quite encouraging, matching the tape of a nasty demeanor and plus run blocker at right tackle last season. He projects to move inside to guard, and these strengths being available at pick 96 was my favorite value for Pittsburgh in the draft.
Dunker landed at the mean as a pass blocker though, with a 77.7 pass block grade that ranked 29th. Not bad, especially considering life as an interior lineman is an easier task in this regard, albeit a jump up in competition in the NFL. Here’s to hoping that’s how it comes to fruition.
Iheanachor was the polarizing first-round selection for Pittsburgh. He started football late but gained quite a bit of experience in college with nice athleticism and high potential. His stronger mark was pass blocking, as expected, but he ranked just one spot higher than Dunker at 28th. Considering they both primarily played right tackle, we gain nice context to how some viewed their contributions in 2025.
The other side of the coin for Iheanachor was as a run blocker, with a 66.8 grade that ranked 35th. While every player’s transition to the NFL is a wait and see game, this is the concerning part for me of how things could project for Iheanachor if he sees the field in year one, and his career.
Following the overall blocking grades, I wanted to provide another set of stats to gauge volatility. Here are blown block rates from Sports Info Solutions (SIS):
Using another stat source lines up with the PFF grading, starting with Dunker’s run block result being the best result. His 0.7 percent blown block rate when run blocking tied for fifth-best in the draft class. Pairing this with a well above-average grade gives optimism than Dunker’s run blocking presence could be the immediate positive impact when he sees the field.
Added context on the flipside, though. Dunker’s 3.0 percent blown block rate in pass blocking tied for 42nd, ninth-worst of his peers. How much of this was him playing tackle, compared to a vast majority seeing him as an NFL guard? Only time will tell.
Iheanachor landed below the mean in each. His better mark was pass blocking once again, but a 2.2 percent blown block rate landed him in a tie for 32nd. Comparatively, his 2.5 percent blown block rate as a run blocker tied for 43rd, the worst mark of the duo in the study.
We clearly see that Iheanachor was the more volatile player, with more extremely low-end plays (blown blocks) regardless of blocking situation, though run blocking was the biggest bugaboo. The hope is that this could clean up with more coaching and experience. Dunker fared well last season as a run blocker, but he was quite volatile in pass blocking. Likely moving from tackle to guard in the NFL could elevate this fact some.
As all players must when entering the league, we see there is much that can improve for both players with the Black and Gold. Here’s to hoping for just that as they begin their NFL journeys.
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