Who will start at right tackle for the Steelers in 2019?

The Steelers traded away Marcus Gilbert this offseason. Letting a solid player leave is a sign of confidence, but who will win the job at right tackle?

The Steelers have one of the best offensive lines in football. No serious ranking of offensive line units in the NFL is going to leave the Steelers far from the top. It’s a great unit – without question.

Well, there is one question. Who is going to play right tackle?

It speaks to the quality of the other four offensive linemen (as well as the backups behind the settled starters and the options at right tackle), that the can remain so highly regarded with 20% of the line unaccounted for. They’re going to have to figure it out soon.

Though Matt Feiler has been taking the first team reps, he acknowledges, according to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, ‘It’s up for grabs. It will be a tough battle.’

Let’s get to the point. Who can we expect to play right tackle for the Steelers in 2019?

The Incumbent: Matt Feiler

Matt Feiler grew up in Pennsylvania and played college football at Bloomsburg University. He went undrafted in 2014, and after a year on Houston’s practice squad, he ended up on the Steelers. He bounced around as one of the nondescript, general backup offensive linemen the Steelers like to keep around. However like Ramon Foster or Kelvin Beachum before him, he found his window into the starting lineup. But like Foster and Beachum, will he also be able to keep it?

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After Marcus Gilbert’s injury last year, Feiler started 10 games. There was no panic or position crisis. Pro Football Focus rated him a 71.0 on the season (which they consider above average), and he did enough to have the Steelers line grade out as the best in the NFL. The fact that he held off a 3rd round pick to keep the job shows the amount of work and dedication he’s put in, and that will continue to put in.

Tomlin has made a habit of letting the best man win the O-line jobs – regardless of draft status or what school they went to. Feiler appears to be the next to take advantage of that. It’s likely his job to lose.

The Insurgent: Chukwuma Okorafor

Okorafor has an interesting story of his own. He was born in Nigeria and didn’t move to America until 2010. There was a point where he’d never heard of football. Fast forward to 2018 and he’s the Steelers 3rd round draft pick. It’s true, Feiler beat him out last year, but there is reason to believe Okorafor has a higher upside.

As I mentioned, Okorafor is newer to football. He also significantly younger at just 21 years old (Feiler will be 27 this month). Okorafor has a longer frame, and is a quicker player. He’s no slouch in the dedication and hard work department either (as he has shown by slimming down this offseason). Maybe Feiler may be the next ‘Ramon Foster’ in terms of what he provides. However, Okorafor is aiming to make a Doug Legursky out of him – an adequate stopgap until he’s ready to DeCastro his way into an indefinitely permanent role.

The Dark Horse: Jerald Hawkins

Jerald Hawkins is kind of halfway between Feiler and Okorafor. He was a 4th round draft pick out of LSU with good physical credentials. He’s got a better pedigree than Feiler but not quite as good as Okorafor. On the other hand, he’s been in the league since 2016, so he’s got more experience than Okorafor but not quite as much Feiler.

Hawkins is the dark horse because he missed all of last year. Even before that he was coming along relatively slowly, but with a season ending injury last season, he has received less playing time in three years than Chuks Okorafor has in one. He’s a wildcard.

So that’s the lineup, and those are the options. Looking them over, they are all viable candidates for the job. But in terms of their likelihood, Matt Feiler has the job to start the season. However, he’s got multiple quality options behind him who are ready to step in. Upon further analysis, the questions at right tackle are for positive reasons.