The Pittsburgh Steelers selected two offensive linemen in the 2026 NFL Draft in their continued youth movement on the line. They took OT Max Iheanachor with their first-round pick, and they could potentially start him in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Steelers then followed that up later in the draft by selecting G Gennings Dunker in the third round.
Yet while we talk about the possibility of the Steelers starting Iheanachor in the season opener, there is no such discussion about Dunker. He spent most of preseason down the depth chart, and there doesn’t appear to be any sign of him being involved in the competition for the right guard spot.
But why?
“He can’t pass pro right now…” beat writer Mark Kaboly said Friday on 93.7 The Fan’s The PM Team. “He’s moving positions. It’s a lot [of] difference of pass pro. It should be easier, actually, when you’re at guard rather than tackle. But, I think they just look at this as the true red-shirt year for him. I think he’ll end up, just his mentality and his mauling at the guard position should be good enough.”
Is that genuinely what’s going on? Well, sort of. In Dunker’s first preseason game, he was great against the pass rush. Per Pro Football Focus, he pass-blocked on 17 snaps and earned an 84.3 pass-blocking grade. That’s absolutely stellar.
Unfortunately, Dunker sustained an injury prior to the Steelers’ second preseason game and did not play. In the preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills, he started at right guard and played the entire game, logging 61 snaps. His pass-blocking grade dropped to 60.1 as he allowed two pressures, one quarterback hit and one hurry.
So perhaps it’s not that Gennings Dunker can’t pass-block at all. Maybe he’s showing a lot of inconsistency as he’s moving to a new spot on the offensive line. That’s understandable. He’s also a third-round rookie with more veteran and experienced options ahead of him right now.
That doesn’t mean Gennings Dunker won’t be an important offensive lineman for the Steelers at some point. As Kaboly pointed out, he’s got the mentality and disposition of a Steelers’ offensive lineman. For now, he just has some work he needs to do to become more consistent as a pass-blocker.
