On the eve of the NFL kickoff and just days ahead of their Week 1 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, the Pittsburgh Steelers have released their first official depth chart of the season. While fans were interested to see how the team would list running backs Jalen Warren and Rico Dowdle or tight ends Pat Freiermuth or Darnell Washington, the biggest question was at right tackle.
We already knew that the Steelers planned to play Warren and Dowdle in tandem in the backfield. The same goes for Washington and Freiermuth at the tight end position. But only one right tackle can play at a time, and fans were curious as to whether first-round pick Max Iheanachor could get on the field from Day 1.
Unfortunately, it looks like Iheanachor will have to bide his time.
The Steelers' Week 1 depth chart lists Dylan Cook as the starting right tackle and Iheanachor as his backup. This shouldn't come as a major surprise, considering Cook started for Pittsburgh late last season and was rolling with the starters all summer. But I'd be lying if I said this wasn't at least a little disappointing.
The Pittsburgh Steelers should have taken their lumps with Max Iheanachor as their starting right tackle in Week 1
There's a case to be made that some young players may not be ready for a trial by fire from Day 1, even some first-round draft picks who stand to be a major part of the operation. In this case, Mike McCarthy believed it was better to roll with Cook early in the season before eventually promoting Iheanachor into the starting gig.
But it's hard to get much better when you're watching from the sidelines.
Apart from cleaning up his technique and working on the mental aspect of the game, there's only so much Iheanachor can do to improve during practice. The majority of his improvement will come once he sees the field.
With a remarkable blend of size, power, and foot quickness, Iheanachor offers hope and upside at the right tackle position... and Week 1 would have been the perfect time for the rookie to get acclimated to the NFL stage.
The Falcons lost budding star pass rusher Jalon Walker for the year with an offseason injury, while fellow first-round pick and edge rusher James Pearce Jr. has been suspended for eight games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. Thus, landing a matchup against backup pass rushers would have given Iheanachor a reasonable test run.
If Dylan Cook plays well against the Falcons, nobody will be doubting McCarthy's decision. But either way, Pittsburgh's first-round pick not seeing the field as a starter in Week 1 is a bit of a disappointment.
The plan is for Max Iheanachor to win the starting right tackle job at some point this season, and it would be better for him to get as many reps as he can early in order to have all the kinks ironed out late in the season.
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