3 Steelers players who must step up their game vs Lions this week

Steelers OT Chukwuma Okorafor

I narrowed in on Chukwuma Okorafor a few times during his preseason game against the Eagles, as I was anxious to see how he looked after missing a good amount of time in team sessions this training camp. While Okorafor seemed quick off the ball, he overextended at times in pass sets and had a few sloppy plays. In addition, Chuks didn’t seem to get a lot of push in the run game.

This resulted in him earning the lowest offensive grade on the team last week with a score under 45, according to Pro Football Focus. As the blindside protector for Ben Roethlisberger this season, this type of performance can’t happen.

During the same game, rookie Dan Moore Jr. strung together another very solid performance – earning an 80 overall grade from PFF. While he has been up and down at times during training camp (tasked with the difficult assignment of handling the impressive Alex Highsmith), Moore has grossly outplayed Okorafor so far in the preseason.

The Steelers coaching staff is apparently higher on Okorafor than many fans are, and he’s going to be the starting left tackle this year. However, the team isn’t going to turn a blind eye to Dan Moore, and the rookie is nipping at his heels for an opportunity. Chuks needs to step up his game quickly.