One of the final questions surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers entering the regular season is how they will handle right tackle. First-round pick Max Iheanachor could be ready to enter the starting lineup at some point early in the campaign, especially if Dylan Cook doesn’t excel as he did last season.
On Thursday, Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy offered an update on Iheanachor’s progress with the regular season approaching.
“Yes he has,” McCarthy answered to a question about whether the rookie has been stacking days. “This will be his third day, so it’ll be great to see [Iheanachor] and you’ll obviously see him out here in the pads.
“The heat yesterday was — I really like the way they fought through that, and the strength and conditioning afterwards and so forth. So, we have a little bit of a reduced practice today. So, this will be good for everybody.
“But it’ll be good to see [Iheanachor] get through the individual.”
Iheanachor suffered an injury to his shoulder/neck area on August 6. That caused him to miss the first two preseason games.
But the rookie returned to practice on August 24 and made his game debut for the team against the Buffalo Bills last Thursday. Iheanachor played 35 snaps in the Week 3 preseason contest.
Steelers’ Max Iheanachor ‘Stacking Days’ Before Week 1
While McCarthy didn’t offer a lot of details about Iheanachor’s progress or an update on the right tackle competition, it was great to hear the rookie has continued to develop at practice.
The first-round pick missed valuable time at training camp, which is rather unfortunate for the Steelers. The same thing happened last season with defensive lineman Derrick Harmon.
But at least Iheanachor is ready to begin the regular season. Harmon missed the first two games of the 2025 campaign.
The Steelers grabbed Iheanachor at No. 21 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. The team selected the 6-foot-6, 321-pound tackle after reportedly wanting to select wide receiver Makai Lemon. General manager Omar Khan was on the phone with Lemon when the Philadelphia Eagles traded up in front of the Steelers to pick the receiver.
Iheanachor might have been the Steelers’ second choice. But that draft night drama has dissipated in the media, and Iheanachor can put it to rest for good by solidifying right tackle in the long run for Pittsburgh.
Steelers’ Mike McCarthy Gives Max Iheanachor Update