PITTSBURGH (AP) 鈥� The Pittsburgh Steelers invested another high-round draft pick along the offensive line.
The Steelers selected Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor in front of their hometown crowd with the No. 21 pick on Thursday night.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 have enough big men up front,鈥� new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a great fit for us and a stud of a young man. I think it鈥檚 an excellent pick for us and he鈥檒l be a great addition to our offensive line.鈥�
The Steelers nearly selected USC receiver Makai Lemon, but the Philadelphia Eagles moved up to the 20th pick in a trade with Dallas and selected the 2025 Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation鈥檚 top wideout.
鈥淧ittsburgh called me and I thought they were going to draft me,鈥� Lemon said. 鈥淎nd then the Eagles called at the same time. I guess it was meant to be.鈥�
General manager Omar Khan said the Steelers were influenced by the Eagles鈥� decision to trade, but said that he was comfortable with adding Iheanachor to the mix.
鈥淭he way it shook out brought us to this position,鈥� Khan said. 鈥淚 think all those things that happened around us affect the conversation. It was the right pick for us.鈥�
This is the third time in four years Pittsburgh drafted an offensive tackle in the first round.
The Steelers鈥� offensive line could use some reinforcements after veteran guard Isaac Seumalo left in free agency and as left tackle Broderick Jones 鈥� their first-round pick in 2023 鈥� recovers from a neck injury that forced him to miss the last seven games of 2025.
There鈥檚 no timetable on when Jones might be ready, though he was with his teammates this week as part of the 鈥渕edical group鈥� when the Steelers held informal workouts.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a little bit of a concern,鈥� Khan said of Jones鈥� injury. 鈥淲e have guys on the offensive line that can play different positions. We have options.鈥�
McCarthy didn鈥檛 rule out moving Troy Fautanu to left tackle. Fautanu, the Steelers鈥� 2024 first-round pick, played 17 games at right tackle last season.
鈥淭hose are discussions that will occur after the draft,鈥� McCarthy said. 鈥淧osition flexibility is bigger than ever in the NFL. To add Max to this group 鈥� I can鈥檛 tell you how excited I am with the pick.鈥�
The 6-foot-5, 321-pound Iheanachor, started 31 games at Arizona State and was a second-team All-Big 12 Conference selection at right tackle. He was born in Nigeria, moved to the United States when he was 13 and played basketball and soccer before starting football in junior college.
Super Bowl 40 MVP Hines Ward was the wide receiver coach at Arizona State and told Khan that Iheanachor was a 鈥渢rue Steeler.鈥�
鈥淗e鈥檚 a Steeler legend,鈥� Iheanachor said of Ward. 鈥淚 definitely got to experience what a Steeler is first-hand in the building and now I鈥檓 going into the building with the actual team.鈥�
Iheanachor didn鈥檛 take a top-30 visit to the Steelers. McCarthy said Iheanachor started to stand out to them in February after the Senior Bowl.
鈥淗e鈥檚 only going to get better and better,鈥� Khan said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 such a talented football player. He hasn鈥檛 played a lot of football, but I鈥檓 excited what the future holds for him with us.鈥�
An NFL-announced record crowd of 320,000 crammed outside Pittsburgh鈥檚 Acrisure Stadium for the NFL鈥檚 marquee offseason event. They twirled yellow Terrible Towels while 鈥淩enegade鈥� by Styx played to welcome Iheanachor, the newest member of the team.
It was the first draft pick for McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native, who was hired to replace Mike Tomlin in January. Tomlin, who led the Steelers to a Super Bowl title in 2008, stepped down after 19 seasons as coach.
Pittsburgh won the AFC North last season, but the Steelers were routed 30-6 by the Houston Texans in the wild-card round, the most lopsided home playoff loss in team history.
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