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Brooke Pryor
Multiple Authors
PITTSBURGH — Facing a crowd filled with Pittsburgh fans twirling Terrible Towels, former Steelers first-round pick Jerome Bettis announced an unexpected first-round selection for the host city Thursday night.
With the 21st pick, the Steelers drafted offensive tackle Max Iheanachor from Arizona State.
The pick came after the Philadelphia Eagles completed a trade with the Dallas Cowboys to jump ahead of the Steelers and select wide receiver Makai Lemon.
“You trust your board, but the way it shook out, it brought us to [tackle], and it was the right pick for us,” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said, explaining Pittsburgh’s process for addressing tackle over other positions of need.
With the Iheanachor pick, the Steelers used their first-round selection on an offensive tackle for the third time in four seasons. Khan traded up to select Georgia’s Broderick Jones with his first first-round pick in 2023. The next year, the Steelers drafted Washington product Troy Fautanu.
While Jones and Fautanu were starters in 2025, Jones’ outlook is murky as he recovers from a season-ending neck injury and offseason surgery. Iheanachor’s selection speaks to the uncertainty at the position.
“Sure, it’s a little bit of a concern,” Khan said of Jones’ injury impacting the decision to draft Iheanachor. “… But we have guys on the offensive line that can play different positions … we have options.”
Though the Steelers didn’t bring Iheanachor in for an official top-30 visit, head coach Mike McCarthy said the offensive line coaches recently had a Zoom call with the Arizona State product who started playing football later in life after primarily playing soccer and basketball.
Khan said Iheanachor really caught their attention following the Senior Bowl when scouts brought him up at their February draft meetings.
“His biggest thing when you watch lineman play, you want to see him strike and stick,” McCarthy said. “And with that, the balance in the footwork, his ability to stay alive on second and third reaction when he does engage.”
Iheanachor spent two seasons at East Los Angeles College, where he played right and left tackle before joining the Sun Devils in 2023. He became the full-time starting right tackle in 2024, but Khan and McCarthy highlighted Iheanachor’s position flexibility and untapped potential in explaining the selection.
“He’s just getting started,” Khan said. “He hasn’t played a lot of football in his life, and he’s only going to get better.”
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