Iheanachor to play RT

The kid has enough to learn without learning a new position

He may wind up on left eventually

 

You are putting the cart before the Horse. The poeple at DK Sports believed this was what he was told for Mini Camp, not the start of the regular season.

If the season starts today it would be Troy at RT and Cook at LT.

I would not read anything into this until you see Troy taking snaps at LT. My long-term money has always been on Troy at LT and Brioderick Jones at RT; I guess I may need to change that this offseason.

 

Reports have stated Fautanu will be the LT. So it looks like Cook and Max are fighting for RT.

 

Jones is done with the Steelers, in my opinion. The best-case scenario is that he plays well enough as a backup this year to show some value on film so we can at least get a compensatory pick when he leaves in free agency. I think he will sign for peanuts elsewhere or simply retire and take an injury settlement.

On the tackle situation: The Steelers currently have three right tackles on the roster, and none of them can consistently stick to their man well enough to play the left side. Meanwhile, Cook already proved he can handle left tackle — he looked solid in his four starts there.

Max is still very raw, and Troy F. in my opinion, simply doesn’t have the feet to play left tackle at a high level. If the Steelers let Cook walk ( he will get handsomely paid as a free agent ) , they’re going to find themselves in a bad spot real quick, with an unproven Max I or Troy F. forced into the left tackle role. If they keep Cook, one of their first round picks is sitting on the bench as a tackle or playing guard.

Left tackle is not a spot where you can not gamble on the Right Tackle and kick the can down the road. But the Steelers are.

 

cook will remain the swing tackle at the least. he and troy will man the left side. this is what i said all along, draft a good right tackle and move troy back where he belongs. we know we have good depth there as well. i'd think about moving mccormick back to his natural left side as well. that way dunker moves one spot to his left to guard. make it as natural as possible. you still have driscoll and hoffman as utility depth. anderson will fight it out with mcullom for interior backup but may go to the PS.

 

I wouldn't put money on iMax staying at RT the entire preseason.

 

I'm kind of torn on this.

I think TF is good, but I worry about his size at LT.

Max is already raw. So I wouldn't have been opposed to putting him to LT right away and just letting him learn the position there (tackle and LT specifically).

I don't think either choice would have been unreasonable...

 

It’s minicamp. Things got lots of time to change. 6 times at least.

I heard the ball boys cousins best friend’s roommate tweeted that he’s actually going to play RB.

 

Cook would be adequate at swing tackle as a backup

If he was starter material the Steelers would not have used a 1st to shove him down the depth chart

They may be forced to start him while the Big I learns

 

What other position was he going to play? In two years of playing in college he only played RT.

 

i haven't heard much about mccorrmick moving but i hope they do he played the left guard position all through college and he and fautanu are familiar playing next to one another.

i don't know if max and dunker will start out next to each other on the right side but eventually i think they will. that would mean an all rookie right side.

 

We shall see. Wherever he plays, I hope he's a HOF player there.

 

Wow! This could be something fun to watch and see it evolve. Almost like doing something new and different.

 

I make a prediction. Troy is a worse left tackle than he played last season at the right.

I agree. I am not convinced that LT is Troy's "natural position". It is just where he played college. It is.not like he struggled AT ALL on the right. LOTS.OF NFL right tackles played.left in college. You tend to put your best tackle there. Max might have been a right tackle only because he was raw and right was less risky to start.

Max has the length, quick feet, and lateral ability that you covet on the left. People are not "born" to play on either side. It is not like "handedness".

The challenge with switching sides is more about familiarity, than a side you are meant to play. Some dude who played on the right since peewee, has it hardwired a result of years of habit. Doesn't have to think as much.

I would contend that Max's lack of experience might make a transition EASIER for that reason.

I suspect they want Max to start on the right THIS YEAR in which case moving Troy to the left makes sense. I would not throw Max to the wolves by making.him play left right away.

I would prefer Max just sit and learn left.

 

We won't truly have any clarity on this until training camp is underway

 

Cook hasn't shown nearly enough to get handsomely paid. I get that left tackles are extremely valuable, but this isn't like quarterback, where a handful of big games can get you a huge contract.

 

Yeah, I get that. But he has until 2027 when his contract is up to prove that he does. For now he plays for near the NFL minimum.


The left tackle position aside from QB and elite pass rusher is the highest paid spot. So if Cook was a 2026 free agency he is getting paid $$$

 

Wanna bet he get paid over 5 million a year for his next contract?

You are a funny guy.

 

I am funny thank you for admiring

Now back to the subject at hand

I see you are backtracking on your statement

You stated and I quote “he will get handsomely paid as a free agent”

Now you have backed off and moved down to $5M

That would put him at 50th for tackles

See isn’t it fun to learn

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/rankings/player/_/year/2026/position/t/sort/contract_average

 

Are you thinking game 1 or maybe game 13 or so

Maybe Cook can keep his job by playing RT for a while

 

I think we’re going to be watching Max learn the swing for years to come. His agility at that size is unique. We’re going to be watching a young man learn the job on the job, watch him grow up, so to speak. The whole Lemon fiasco may have just aligned the stars for us on this one. That’s how the universe works sometimes, u just get lucky.

The right swing, I like it!