Offensive Lineman · Pittsburgh Steelers

Max Iheanachor

No. 71 · Rookie

Hines Ward sees something in Max Iheanachor

When a Pittsburgh Steelers legend starts talking about a rookie by name, people listen.

Max Iheanachor is a rookie offensive tackle for the Steelers — a first-year player working to earn his place on one of the NFL's most storied rosters. He hasn't had time to build a long track record. That's what makes it mean something when someone like Hines Ward starts singing his praises.

Ward, a wide receiver who spent the better part of two decades as the face of Pittsburgh football and holds a place in the franchise's inner ring of respect, has been vocal about what he sees in Iheanachor. That's not a throwaway endorsement.

For a rookie offensive tackle, visibility is everything. Most first-year linemen grind quietly, mostly noticed only when something goes wrong. Getting recognized — really recognized, by someone with Ward's standing in this city — puts Iheanachor in a different kind of light before his career has barely started.

Now comes the part where he has to live up to it.

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