The Pittsburgh Steelers and new offensive line coach James Campen are still getting to know first-round offensive tackle Max Iheanachor, but the Arizona State product continues to make a strong first impression.
He’s behind Troy Fautanu and Dylan Cook during Organized Team Activities but having that chance to sit and learn takes a huge burden off the young player. It’s allowing Iheanachor to learn the system at his own pace.
In the process, he’s also displaying the athleticism that made him a first-round pick.
“He’s very smart. And he’s coming in and he has the luxury of having good players in front of him, so he doesn’t have to start from square one, and I think that’s always a bonus for younger player,” Campen said Wednesday of Iheanachor, according to video via the Post-Gazette. “But his athleticism that we saw on tape and all that stuff is what it is.
“He’s a very good athlete and he’s going to accelerate.”
Coming out of Arizona State, that athleticism, his footwork and his overall movement skills at the tackle position were calling cards. He had a great 2025 season and followed that with a dominant showing at the Senior Bowl, opening plenty of eyes in the draft community.
That was enough for the Steelers to draft him No. 21 overall, taking a chance on a young tackle with a limited football background who projects as a moldable ball of clay. That bodes well for Campen and assistant offensive line coach Jahri Evans, who are tasked with getting the young player up to speed and tapping into his high-end potential.
It helps that Iheanachor will have some elite-level pass rushers to go against in minicamp and training camp, speeding up that process.
“When these young tackles have really good rushers…I had a kid, David Baktiari at Green Bay, and he had to rush against Clay Matthews. He had Julius Peppers, too,” Campen said. “When you have this type of variation and having it here with these guys who are extremely productive rushers, with different body types, different styles, it only accelerates the edge players.
“And so training camp will be very big for him.”
It’s unlikely that Iheanachor sees the field anytime soon, especially with Cook working at right tackle and Broderick Jones seemingly taking steps forward in his recovery. But if Iheanachor is going to play as a rookie, he’ll have to perform in training camp practices against the likes of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer.
He’ll also need to hold his own against Derrick Harmon, Cameron Heyward, Yahya Black and more. Iron sharpens iron, and the Steelers have plenty of iron defensively to throw at him.