The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their first padded practice of training camp under new head coach Mike McCarthy on Monday, and as Jaylen Warren put it, it wasn't what the players were used to. Coach McCarthy made it known before training camp that his team would not be participating in live tackling sessions, but that doesn't mean we can't evaluate the players in the trenches.
Max Iheanachor was one of the biggest winners of the first padded practice of Steelers training camp in Latrobe. Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that Iheanachor was the star of Day 5 of practice when the pads came on.
The first-round offensive tackle had high-quality reps during offensive line versus defensive line drills—holding his own against talented edge rushers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. What more could you want from a 22-year-old tackle on his first day of padded practice in the pros?
This is just one day of pads, but it's noteworthy that the rookie who was labeled 'raw' by most in the scouting community is already looking sharp. Now Iheanachor may have already taken a big step toward the ultimate goal: being the starter at right tackle when the season opens up.
Max Iheanachor is already inching closer to being the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting right tackle after a strong practice
It's hard to know exactly how the coaching staff will operate with the decisions on the offensive line. Considering Iheanachor is a first-round draft selection, we know that McCarthy and offensive line coach James Campen will want to get him on the field sooner rather than later.
However, Iheanachor is currently running primarily with the second-team offensive line, as Dylan Cook has been taking right tackle reps. Cook had a strong performance late in the 2025 season. It's also worth noting that 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones took some snaps at right tackle during practice.
But seniority won't mean a thing if Iheanachor keeps trending upward at this rate.
At nearly 6'6'' and pushing 330 pounds, Iheanachor already had exceptional movement skills for an offensive tackle. And if he can continue to hold his own against four-time First-Team All-Pro T.J. Watt and the versatile Alex Highsmith, it might only be a matter of days before we are seeing Iheanachor leapfrog the competition.
Quite frankly, this is what every Steelers fan should be rooting for. Obviously, we want to see Cook and Jones perform well, as they are also members of this deep offensive line in Pittsburgh. But Iheanachor is the future of the position, and he's got more youth and talent on his side than the rest of the group.
We can't expect every practice from Iheanachor to go as smoothly as it did on the team's first day in pads, but if he keeps this up, it's only a matter of time before he solidifies himself as the Steelers' starting right tackle.
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