The Pittsburgh Steelers made their choice and got their guy. Max Iheanachor, the offensive tackle from Arizona State, will be brought in to hopefully complete the tackle room.
It was a shocking choice, to say the least.
While time will tell whether this was the right pick, it still leaves this team with plenty of questions. While we got one answer from the team, it feels like we have opened up three more pivotal issues that need to be answered.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must answer 3 pressing questions after the baffling Max Iheanachor pick
Was the surprise pick the right one?
Max Iheanachor feels like a shock. The Steelers showed almost no interest in him ahead of the draft, and he certainly wasn’t on my short list of players. Given how the board broke, it felt like this team scrambled to find their next best fit.
I don’t dislike the Iheanachor pick. I believe in building through the trenches, and tackle was an obvious need with the uncertainty around Broderick Jones. However, no pre-draft visit or GM/head coach at his pro day is shocking.
Time will tell if this was the right move. It certainly feels like a risk to take a raw prospect with little to no interaction in the first. It feels desperate.
Who will play guard for the Steelers?
For those who didn’t follow along with me during the pre-draft process, I was all in on landing Vega Ioane in the first round. Perhaps it was just me being hopeful, but I thought there was a good chance he would fall to pick 21.
Instead, the Ravens grabbed him at pick 14, as was heavily assumed. The Steelers rebounded and still got a good talent, but the question still remains: Who will start at left guard this season?
Isaac Seumalo departed in free agency, and the team has done little to replace him. Spencer Anderson has flashed at times, while Brock Hoffman is quality depth, but neither is a great starting option.
Will a rookie be added? Time will tell. But the Steelers biggest hole still remains on the team.
Was it worth not moving up in the draft?
This draft wasn’t full of blue-chip prospects. It felt like the Steelers could have used one of their top four players on their board. Instead, the team decided to stay pat at pick 21 despite a surplus of picks and miss out on some of the top names.
Moving up for Ioane wasn’t likely, but a few spots for either Makai Lemon or Monroe Freeling? That seems like a no-brainer. This team was used to having the board break perfectly for them. It didn’t happen this year, and it cost the Steelers
Add us as a preferred source on Google