The Pittsburgh Steelers grab raw Nigerian OT Max Iheanachor from Arizona State in the first round of the NFL Draft.
The Pittsburgh Steelers decided to beef up their offensive line in the first round of the NFL Draft, selecting Arizona State tackle Max Iheanachor.
Iheanachor wasn’t linked to the Steelers in many mock drafts. However, there were signals in recent days that coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Omar Khan were enamored by the 6-foot-6, 321-pound native of Nigeria.
Many mocks had Pittsburgh selecting a wide receiver with the 21st overall pick. Makai Lemon of USC, a receiver the Steelers reportedly thought highly of, went one pick earlier to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Iheanachor was a second-team All-Big 12 selection last season, allowing no sacks on 484 pass-blocking snaps while starting 12 games, all at right tackle.
Iheanachor moved from Nigeria to Compton, Calif., when he was 13. He played soccer in his youth, then switched to basketball at King Drew Medical High School. Iheanachor decided to try football on his AAU basketball coach's advice.
While the coach projected Iheanachor as a tight end, the coaches at East Los Angeles College immediately put him at tackle. He played only one game as a freshman at the two-year school.
However, Iheanachor blossomed a year later while playing both tackle spots. He became one of the top 10 junior college recruits, according to 247 Sports.
In his first season at Arizona State in 2023, Iheanachor played in six games and started five – four at right tackle and one at left tackle. He played 206 pass block snaps without surrendering a sack.
Iheanachor blossomed in 2024. He started all 14 games at right tackle as Arizona State reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history. Opponents had three sacks against Iheanachor in 469 pass block snaps.
Iheanachor played in the Senior Bowl at the end of last season and impressed scouts enough that many teams put a first-round grade on him after he was previously considered a likely second-round pick.
Iheanachor has plenty of raw talent, and his days as a soccer and basketball player helped hone his athleticism. Considering he has played football for five years, Iheanachor still needs to develop into a complete tackle. However, he has all the ingredients to be an above-average player in the NFL.
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