The Pittsburgh Steelers will hope Max Iheanachor is the last offensive lineman they have to draft in the first round for a while. In the Steelers’ effort to keep a foothold in the AFC North, they’ve addressed the position in the first round in three of the last four years. But it hasn’t been enough to make CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson confident in the unit going forward.
“My question is, is the offensive line good enough to protect old Aaron Rodgers, 42-years young? I don’t know the answer to that,” Wilson said Wednesday on CBS Sports HQ. “That’s where the conversation starts.”
The unit certainly will look different this year. Broderick Jones is able to participate in individual activities, but has yet to see the field in the team portion of practice. His health is very much up in the air. The Steelers seem ready to move Troy Fautanu over to fill his spot. Which is risky, but Fautanu has multiple years of experience on the left side dating back to his college days.
The other tackle position will be interesting as well. Max Iheanachor is hopefully set to be the future there, but Dylan Cook might earn the starting spot if the former isn’t quite ready yet. On the interior, we’ll see some combination of names including Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, Gennings Dunker, Spencer Anderson and Brock Hoffman.
With a quarterback as old as Aaron Rodgers is, the offensive line’s play is paramount. However, the unit did well last year and gained some depth this offseason. Plus, Rodgers made it clear in 2025 that he’d rather not sit in the pocket and hold the ball.
Yet, Wilson thinks a fourth-place finish in the AFC North is a real possibility for the Steelers.
“Gonna be a competitive division. If you told me they finished third or fourth in that division, I wouldn’t necessarily be shocked right now. But we’ll see, they somehow won the division last year,” Wilson said.
The Steelers did win the AFC North last year. But it feels like the competition will be stronger in 2026. If Lamar Jackson can stay healthy throughout the year, Baltimore’s ceiling is higher. Cincinnati still has plenty of offensive talent and made some solid defensive additions this offseason. And while Cleveland’s quarterback room is still a question mark, the Browns have put together a few solid offseasons in a row.
However, all of those teams still have questions. Cleveland and Baltimore each have new coaching staffs, which leads to some unpredictability. And while Cincinnati added some names defensively, we’ll need to see that unit step up on the field, which it hasn’t done in several years.
The Steelers also have a new staff, and we don’t know if it can find ways to claw out wins like Mike Tomlin did. But on paper, it’s hard to feel as if the Steelers didn’t improve this offseason. Still, Wilson feels it might not be enough to avoid the basement of the AFC North.