Pittsburgh Steelers’ fans had a subdued reaction to the team’s selection of Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor at No. 21 overall, especially after the Makai Lemon debacle.
But with the dust settling on that rough moment for the franchise, the praise continues to roll in regarding the selection of Iheanachor.
The latest to praise the pick for the Steelers is longtime NFL analyst Brian Baldinger. During an appearance on NFL Network’s pre-draft show Saturday, Baldinger raved about Iheanachor’s fit with the Steelers.
“They fell in love with Max at the Senior Bowl. They thought he was the best offensive lineman at the Senior Bowl this year,” Baldinger said of the Steelers. “He’s only been playing football, heck, he was at East Los Angeles College, wherever that is, Mike, just four years ago. But he really developed quickly. And there we saw him at the Senior Bowl. It was like, shut down one side after the other. And so, we’ll see. He’s been the right tackle. Let’s see if you can play some left tackle or another position.
“But he has that nastiness that you love.”
He had a strong 2025 season with the Sun Devils, including an impressive showing against No. 2 overall selection David Bailey and Texas Tech. Iheanachor built upon things at the Senior Bowl, turning in a dominant performance while playing with a nasty edge.
According to Baldinger, the Steelers fell in love with Iheanachor at the Senior Bowl, which makes sense. He started slow on Day 1, but dominanted 0n Days 2 and 3, putting him on teams’ radars.
Now, he’s a Steeler and projects as a key building block for offensive line coaches James Campen and Jahri Evans. Campen spoke highly of Iheanachor on Friday night, stating he’s excited to work with him and the young lineman is only scratching the surface.
He’ll have to learn on the fly at the NFL level, but his nastiness will translate immediately, as Baldinger highlighted. If he clicks in the NFL, that nastiness will be a major part of the Steelers’ identity moving forward.