The Pittsburgh Steelers recently moved on from OT Chukwuma Okorafor after he spent six seasons with the team. He was one of the very few offensive players on the Steelers’ roster who was on a second contract, but he was benched in favor of rookie OT Broderick Jones in the middle of the season for something he said during the Steelers’ Week 8 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin released his list of top-10 free agent tackles this year and had Okorafor listed eighth.
Okorafor actually had the highest average annual value (AAV) of the tackles on the list, though he is far from having the highest pedigree. Tyron Smith and Trent Brown topped the list, but both have had injury issues over the last several years. Here is the full list, in reverse order from ten to one, via Dubin’s article.
| PLAYER | 2023 TEAM | POSITION | SNAP % | AGE | PREVIOUS AAV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yosh Nijman | Packers | OT | 21.1% | 28 | $4.3 million |
| Andrus Peat | Saints | OT | 69.9% | 31 | $5.5 million |
| Chukwuma Okorafor | Steelers | OT | 40.8% | 27 | $9.8 million |
| George Fant | Texans | OT | 80.6% | 32 | $3.0 million |
| Donovan Smith | Chiefs | OT | 66.3% | 31 | $3.0 million |
| Jermaine Eluemunor | Raiders | OT | 86.5% | 30 | $3.0 million |
| Mekhi Becton | Jets | OT | 89.6% | 25 | $4.6 million |
| Jonah Williams | Bengals | OT | 100.0% | 27 | $4.4 million |
| Trent Brown | Patriots | OT | 55.3% | 31 | $6.5 million |
| Tyron Smith | Cowboys | OT | 60.1% | 34 | $6.0 million |
Okorafor was drafted in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft and initially saw some starts at left tackle before being flipped to the right side in 2020 to become the full-time starter. At 6-6 320 pounds, Okorafor has the prototypical frame for a tackle, but he could never quite get it together to be a premier tackle for the Steelers.
To be fair, he had five offensive line coaches in six seasons with the team. Mike Munchak was there in his rookie season, and then the Steelers burned through Shaun Sarrett, Adrian Klemm, and Chris Morgan before hiring Pat Meyer, who has been with the team for two seasons.
He was one of the pieces of the Steelers’ offensive line overhaul as Maurkice Pouncey, Alejandro Villanueva, Ramon Foster, and David DeCastro were aging. Okorafor’s departure marks the last holdover from the tumultuous years the offensive line faced. Fortunately, they seem to be entering a more promising era.
The Steelers will be in the market for a tackle, as Dan Moore Jr. was one of the worst at the position in the league last season. With a historically promising tackle class in the draft, it seems likely the Steelers will go that route rather than free agency, but the list above shows some other options they could consider.
