By the sounds of it, Chukwuma Okorafor is going to be the Steelers left tackle in 2021. Can Pittsburgh do better?
The Steelers didn’t exactly have a lot to work with this offseason. After backloading the contracts of many of their aging veterans, Pittsburgh was hit with a serious curveball when the pandemic struck. As a result, the salary cap plummeted, and the organization was forced to let many talented players walk this offseason.
Still, with nine selections in the 2021 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh tried to make the most of a bad situation by adding much-needed depth to several positions that were really hurting. James Conner left via free agency this offseason, and the Steelers really felt like they needed a major upgrade at the running back position. They found it in Alabama’s Najee Harris.
Likewise, the retirement of Maurkice Pouncey and Vance McDonald forced the team to dip into the center and tight end positions early in the draft this year. In a terrific offensive tackle class that was loaded with talent at the top, it, unfortunately, seemed like tackle was an afterthought for the Steelers.
Alejandro Villanueva departed for Baltimore following the draft, and apart from bringing in a reserve offensive lineman in Joe Haeg and drafting Dan Moore Jr. on day three, Pittsburgh didn’t do much in the way of adding help to one of football’s most important positions.
Recently, head coach Mike Tomlin indicated that he plans to play Zach Banner in his original role prior to his ACL injury as the team’s right tackle. Because of this, it sounds like Chukwuma Okorafor will be manning the left tackle position. While Okorafor is still young, is he really the best option for the Steelers during an all-important Super Bowl window?
There must be a better option at LT for Steelers
Zach Banner won the right tackle role for the Steelers out of training camp last year. However, he didn’t even complete one full game to start the season before tearing his ACL. In his stead, Okorafor filled in as the new starting right tackle. Though he had some games that gave us hope, most of the 2020 season was a struggle for the young offensive tackle.
According to Pro Football Focus, Okorafor graded out as the 70th-best tackle out of 79 qualifying players in 2020 with an overall grade of just 57.4. Considering there are only 64 starting offensive tackles in the league, this ranking clearly isn’t good. It also doesn’t look promising that the former third-round pick has never earned higher than a 58.3 grade throughout the first three years of his NFL career.
It’s shocking that, in a year that means so much to the Steelers, they would leave one of the most important positions in football up to chance. Based on what we’ve seen, there is a reasonable chance that Okorafor sadly disappoints and Pittsburgh looks to replace Ben’s blindside protector mid-season.
Because of this, the Steelers must have a proactive approach. No, they don’t have a lot of salary cap space to work with, as they still to sign the remainder of their rookie class. However, there are ways they can make it work and other options that would be a clear improvement.
Recently, I wrote about how Pittsburgh could pursue a quality veteran like Russell Okung to man the left tackle position for the Steelers. By signing him to a two-year deal, the team could lower his first-year cap hit. He would be an instant upgrade at arguably the second-most important position in football. Likewise, Washington recently said that they are open to trading quality tackle, Morgan Moses. Though Moses is a right tackle by trade, he has the skillset and experience to be a big upgrade over Okorafor at left tackle for the Steelers.
Pittsburgh did a great job filling some of their biggest positions of need this offseason, but I feel they have far too much confidence in a very much unproven Chukwuma Okorafor. I have to believe there are better options out there for the Steelers.