By Matt Papiernik, @Matt_Papiernik on Twitter
SteelerNation.com
A lot of focus around the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason is on the health of the Super Bowl winning QB Ben Roethlisberger and the bounce back of the offense after a putrid 2019 season. However, not a lot of people are focusing on likely the most important position battle on the team for the starting right tackle spot.
After the retirement of Ramon Foster in the offseason, it left a hole at left guard in the Steelers offense. That hole was vacant for long as the Steelers announced they'd be moving starting right tackle, Matt Feiler, to replace Foster.
This leaves a big hole at right tackle, but the Steelers have two high upside options in Zach Banner and Chukwuma Okorafor.
Banner is one of the fan favorites on the team, and appears to be impressing the coaches early on in training camp. Banner took multiple reps against star outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree, as well as some of the Steelers interior defensive lineman.
All reports out of camp say that Banner impressed in all of his reps vs. Dupree and the other interior defensive lineman he faced, but there was little about his performance against Watt. But it should be noted that Banner and Watt did get a little heated with each other after a couple reps during team drills.
While there was nothing more than some words exchanged in a non-social distancing manner, it shows the fire and intensity these two continue to bring even when on the practice field. Iron sharpens iron right? Hopefully that holds true for these two as well.
Stories out of training camp often tend to be overreactions, and there is no way to determine how it will correlate until they strap em up on Sundays. However, positive news is rarely a bad thing for a player fighting for a starting spot.
While Banner may of gotten the headlines early on, don't sleep on Okorafor as he isn't going to give up on his chance to see the field.
Keep checking back for updates on Steelers training camp, and comment below your thoughts of how they look early on!
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