Max Iheanachor Mason McCormick
Max Iheanachor Mason McCormick
The Pittsburgh Steelers have always been focused on winning in the trenches. And in last few years, they’ve made a massive effort through the draft to get younger along the offensive line. One of the latest additions is Max Iheanachor, this year’s first-round pick. He’s little more than a week into his first NFL training camp but has impressed Zach Frazier, one of the Steelers stalwarts along the offensive line.
“I think Max has had a great start. Obviously, for any rookie coming in, it’s a lot, just an NFL offense. But every day he’s taking steps. He doesn’t really make the same mistakes twice. So he’s coachable, and I’m really happy with how he’s done so far,” Frazier said Thursday via Steelers.com.
Things really ramped up for Iheanachor, and the rest of the line, once the pads went on this week. But he seems to be responding very well. He’s held his own in reps against the Steelers’ talented edge rushing corps and is quickly forcing his way into the conversation at right tackle.
Unfortunately, that might be on hold for now.
While we don’t know the severity of it yet, Iheanachor sustained what appeared to be a shoulder injury during Thursday’s practice. Frazier said he doesn’t know anything about the injury, but it will presumably be addressed by Mike McCarthy during his Friday press conference.
Iheanachor isn’t the only young player who has impressed Frazier. He loves what he’s seeing from Yahya Black as well.
“He’s definitely gotten a lot better,” Frazier said. “You know, he’s a big guy. I’m excited for him. He’s gonna be pushing a lot of pockets this year.”
Yahya Black is another winner from the early portion of camp. From his teammates, to beat writers, and his head coach himself, the 2025 fifth-round pick is turning heads. After seeing most of his work at defensive end last year, Black is primed for a bigger role at nose tackle this season.
The Steelers get criticized plenty for having what some see as an older roster. But in some areas, they’re actually pretty young. In Iheanachor and Black, the Steelers have two youngsters who are already making an impression on Frazier.