The dust has somewhat settled following the Pittsburgh Steelers' selection of Arizona State offensive lineman Max Iheanachor in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and fans are...puzzled, to put it as nicely as possible. With the dream pick of USC receiver Makai Lemon being taken away from them by the Philadelphia Eagles at pick 20, a third tackle pick in four years is hard to get excited about.
That doesn't mean that the pick won't ultimately work out, or that Lemon or a different prospect would have been the better choice. However, what Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy said at the Steelers draft press conference about how they plan to integrate Iheanachor into the team will only add to fans' concerns.
When asked about the possibility of trying Iheanachor at guard, where the Steelers have a hole left by the departure of Isaac Seumalo, McCarthy immediately shut the idea down.
"With Max[Iheanachor]? No. We'll start him off at tackle," McCarthy said. That quote by itself isn't an issue, but it's what he and general manager Omar Khan said when the idea of Troy Fautanu being moved to guard was brought up. "Lots of options there. We got options."
Mike McCarthy needs to shut down the idea of moving Troy Fautanu to guard after Max Iheanachor addition
The idea of the Steelers shuffling their offensive line undoubtedly brings back nightmares about how Broderick Jones was handled over the first few years of his career. A college left tackle, and a raw one at that, Jones was quickly moved to right tackle to accommodate former starting left tackle Dan Moore Jr. Jones has since become a bust, and some still argue things could have been different if he stayed on the left side from the start.
Iheanachor sticking at tackle, and specifically right tackle, should be the Steelers' plan for him. Moving Fautanu to left tackle is also fine, as he played left tackle at Washington before, surprise, surprise, he was moved to the right side to let Jones move back to his original spot.
Where they would be making a mistake is trying to move Fautanu to guard, especially when Dylan Cook seems to be the likely answer at left tackle in that situation.
Could he do it? I don't doubt it, as the 2024 first-round pick had a very strong season in 2025 and has the size and strength to pull it off. But I think I can speak for most Steelers fans when I say that the offensive line musical chairs needs to stop. Hopefully, McCarthy feels the same by the time training camp rolls around.
Add us as a preferred source on Google