The Pittsburgh Steelers hope first-round pick OT Max Iheanachor has a long, prosperous career. They just might need to exercise patience out of the gate. Though the team hasn’t announced a starting tackle opposite Troy Fautanu, Dylan Cook enters camp as the favorite. To Ray Fittipaldo, Cook’s spot is nearly written in pen.
“He’s very talented,” Fittipaldo said of Iheanachor during a Thursday interview with 93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller. “He’s got everything they want; he’s got the feet, he’s got the size. But there’s some polish that’s needed to his game.
“So I’m not ruling out that he could be a starter, say by mid-October, maybe November. But I would be shocked if he is able to beat out Dylan Cook just because I think there’s that much work to do for James Campen in training camp.”
Iheanachor could follow the same track as 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones, a similar toolsy prospect who needed refinement. Jones began the season as a backup and didn’t start until Week Nine. Even that came under unusual circumstances after starting RT Chukwuma Okorafor was benched for making a disparaging comment, reportedly about then-OC Matt Canada.
Iheanachor started 31 college games against good competition. But his late start to football, not playing until college, is the main reason for his perceived rawness. On tape, he must improve his punch and upper half to become a more complete player.
“They just got started in the spring. They only had a month to work with this guy,” Fittipaldo said. “I think they’re going to need a little more time before they call him a starter.”
Unlike past years, Pittsburgh has the luxury of waiting. Cook played well to close out 2025 and will aim to carry that forward into 2026. Troy Fautanu is likely locked in at left tackle after a spring flip to his college position. Rosters are better when the team has more options as opposed to not enough. It might be a bit disappointing to watch Iheanachor begin the year on the bench, but it’s preferable to, say, 2021 when the team forced rookies Dan Moore Jr. and Kendrick Green into the lineup to sink or swim.
Despite missing out on WR Makai Lemon, we noted the Steelers were previously in a similar situation that ultimately worked out in their favor. In 2002, Pittsburgh intended to draft EDGE Ryan Denney, lost out to the trading-up Buffalo Bills, and pivoted to WR Antwaan Randle El instead.
As Fittipaldo points out, Iheanachor’s time on the bench could be brief. If he’s as talented as Pittsburgh believes he is, he could grab the starting job around the team’s Week Nine bye.
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