After two games of mediocre offensive line performances, the Pittsburgh Steelers finally turned the right tackle job over to rookie Max Iheanachor. Despite being viewed as a raw rookie, the first-round pick finally got a chance to shine this week.
Unfortunately, the reason for him starting wasn’t due to his own play. Instead, Spencer Anderson seemingly lost his right guard spot, and the team wanted to maintain continuity with who had been playing on the right side through camp.
Thankfully, Iheanachor didn’t disappoint.
The Steelers had one of the best showings from their offensive line this week in both the run game and the passing game. It wasn’t all on Iheanachor, but he played a key role and more than held his own.
For a team and a fanbase that have rookie tackle fatigue, especially after the disaster that was the Broderick Jones pick, this was a breath of fresh air. Iheanachor looked like a completely different type of tackle out of the gate.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will have short-term memory with Max Iheanachor
The story of Jones and Iheanachor for the Steelers felt similar. Long-term, offensive tackle raised obvious questions, but in the short term, there were players who could start for the team. It allowed the Steelers to take a developmental option with a high ceiling.
That is where the similarities end, though.
Jones struggled to see the field as a rookie, and when he did, the results were a disappointment. Iheanachor arguably just played a better game than Jones ever did in his Steelers career.
It wasn’t a simple game plan either. The Steelers focused on having a perimeter run game due to how disruptive Dexter Lawrence has been in the interior. That puts the focus on tackles being able to shut out their respective edge rushers.
Iheanachor did this in spades this week. Run blocking was considered the weakest part of his game, so seeing a strong showing in his starter debut was promising.
He did fine as a pass blocker, but edge rushing isn’t the biggest strength of the Bengals. He certainly will need to prove more over time there. That said, he effectively shut down the Bengals exterior pass rush.
Considering how up and down Jones was right off the bat, it feels like Iheanachor is already farther along as a player. Time will tell if he can maintain that high level of play, but his debut was a promising one.
The Steelers may have gotten a good one in Iheanachor. Considering the amount of investment in this group, seeing such early signs of promise from their top pick is incredible. He’s already made Pittsburgh forget about their failed tackle project.
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