In the 2026 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected offensive tackle Max Iheanachor out of Arizona State, but we still haven’t gotten to see what the first-round pick can do in a preseason game. Iheanachor has been out since August 6 with a shoulder injury, which has kept him off the field for the Steelers’ first two preseason games.
That could change Thursday night when the Steelers take on the Buffalo Bills in the preseason finale.
Pittsburgh’s offensive line has struggled throughout the preseason, with the starters having issues early in both games and the second- and third-team units not making things look much better. Getting Iheanachor back on the field could give the Steelers another option to work with up front.
He’ll likely have some rust to shake off after missing nearly three weeks, but it will still be interesting to see how he looks in his first real game action. With the Steelers wrapping up the preseason Thursday night, there’s a chance we finally get our first look at what their first-round pick can bring to the offensive line.
Max Iheanachor says he’s expected to see his first preseason action for the Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday night
It looks like there’s a very good chance Iheanachor will play against the Bills in the preseason finale, but how many reps he gets is still up in the air. As a rookie who has missed a good portion of training camp, Iheanachor hasn’t had much time to get comfortable with the offense. Before getting hurt, he was working with the second team behind Dylan Cook at right tackle.
Since Iheanachor went down, Broderick Jones has taken those reps, but now that Iheanachor is back, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get some of that second-team work again. Jones has struggled during the preseason, so it will be interesting to see how the Steelers handle those reps on Thursday.
There’s also a chance Jones moves over to second-team left tackle, depending on how the Steelers line things up. With this being the final preseason game and the first-team offense still not having played together much, I’d expect Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the starters to get some work before the backups take over.
After watching the offensive line struggle through the first two preseason games, it’s definitely nice to finally have a chance to see what Iheanachor can do in an actual game. If he comes out and plays well, it could give the Steelers something to think about and potentially put him in the mix for a bigger role sooner than expected.
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