Teams have a great opportunity to solidify their identity and culture with the NFL draft every year. When teams sign free agents, they’re banking on plugging them in to help address needs immediately. However, teams build their core through the draft.
Analyst Rhett Lewis believes that the Pittsburgh Steelers and general manager Omar Khan leaned into their organizational identity. Lewis and former Pittsburgh Steelers OL Max Starks were on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday discussing some potential breakout players in 2026, and Lewis took some time to talk about Khan and the Steelers’ draft process.
“I think the Steelers and Omar Khan did a fantastic job in this draft,” Lewis said. “Because I feel like they are a team that drafted players who represent who they are and who they want to be, as well as anybody in this draft. Like Gennings Dunker was meant to be a Pittsburgh Steeler, the offensive lineman from Iowa in the third round. Like Riley Nowakowski in the fifth round, fullback, tight end, H-back type player was meant to be a Pittsburgh Steeler.
“Germie Bernard fits the mold of what… they needed in that wide receiver group. And then two, a mature football player, and a dang good one, too. So, I think there’s some real intrigue with some of the young players and some of the guys that they drafted. Max Iheanachor, I think, could be really, really good when he starts to kind of fine-tune some of those raw skills and abilities that we saw this last year at Arizona State.”
That’s strong praise for Omar Khan and the Steelers, months after the draft. People questioned what the draft would look like after former head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down. Khan, in Lewis’ mind, didn’t miss a beat.
Lewis named four players from the Steelers’ draft class, and two of them are offensive linemen. The Steelers have a rich history of quality offensive linemen. Historically, they wanted to dominate at the line of scrimmage and establish the ground game. That’s why Lewis named Gennings Dunker first.
The Athletic’s Brian DeFabo named Dunker the Steelers’ “most physically imposing lineman” already. That’s the kind of players the Steelers want on their offensive line. If the Steelers want to push people around, they need people movers. Dunker looks the part even before his first NFL training camp.
Heck, former Steelers QB Charlie Batch saw shades of a Pro Football Hall of Famer who played for the Steelers when he looked at Dunker. Anytime you hear someone compare an offensive lineman to Alan Faneca in a positive way, that’s a Steelers’ offensive lineman.
As for Riley Nowakowski being a Steeler, our very own Clayton Eckert took a look at his blocking grades in college. Eckert categorized Nowakowski as “a strongly graded but volatile run blocker, and an average but steady pass blocker who did so frequently.” Volatile might not be the best thing in this case, with him missing some key blocks. But when Nowakowski gets a hold of a defender in the run game, he wins. He was the second-best run-blocking tight end in the draft. Sounds like a Steeler to me.
Lewis is also high on WR Germie Bernard and OT Max Iheanachor. Analyst Matt Harmon called Bernard “the ultimate glue guy” because of his ability to make plays in the passing game and win as a blocker. Iheanachor needs more time to develop, but the physical talent is there.
Plus, Steelers legend WR Hines Ward got to see Iheanachor close up as a coach at Arizona State. Ward said that Iheanachor “has that Steeler mentality in him.” If Hines Ward says Max Iheanachor has that mentality, I’m sure not going to doubt him. Evidently, neither is Rhett Lewis.
Only time will tell if the Steelers’ draft class plays out as well as some people think. Regardless, Lewis sees how a number of these players fit the Steelers’ culture. And that’s a good thing.
Recommended for you