Munchak looking forward to helping Okorafor develop
“You think where Alejandro [Villanueva] was when he came in, a free-agent practice-squad tackle that turned into a Pro Bowler,” general manager Kevin Colbert said. “You have Chris Hubbard, who came in as a free agent, worked with coach Munchak and left this season as a priority free agent for another squad. We’re real excited to see how much ‘Chuks’ can improve under coach Munchak’s tutelage.”
“Chuks” is the nickname for the 6-foot-6, 320-pound tackle whose name (pronounced chuck-WOO-muh oh-KOR-uh-for) is as big as his frame. The Steelers needed a backup tackle after the loss of Hubbard in free agency. Not many expected them to start looking for one before the third day of the draft, especially after the Steelers, seemingly in need of defensive help, had used their previous two picks on offensive players — Oklahoma State teammates James Washington (receiver) and Mason Rudolph (quarterback).
But Okorafor, a player whose potential is probably better than his game tape, was there. And the Steelers jumped.
“Any college lineman, when you draft them, you don’t know what [you’re getting], especially with the systems they run these days,” Munchak said. “So many of these guys haven’t done what we are going to ask them to do. He’s very strong. When you have a big man like him, it’s hard to just run around him. He’s got nice long arms, good size and has a lot of growth ahead as far as growth and strength and technique. He’s capable of doing everything we want him to do and we ask our tackles to do.”
Okorafor was not only the first player drafted from the Mid-American Conference last weekend, but also was the first from the state of Michigan — an oddity in itself given the presence of Michigan and Michigan State.
He was also the third Western Michigan offensive lineman drafted in the past three years, joining Willie Beavers, a fourth-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2016, and Taylor Moton, a second-round pick of the Carolina Panthers last year.
“He’s got a very good upside, probably the most unique upside of this whole group,” Colbert said, referring to offensive tackles in the draft.
Colbert said the Steelers first noticed Okorafor last year when they were scouting Moton and Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis, who was drafted in the first round by the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Chuks kind of stood out on film,” Colbert said.
Curiously, the Steelers signed Okorafor’s teammate, running back Jarvion Franklin, as an undrafted free agent Saturday night. But they didn’t stumble upon him while scouting their new rookie tackle. They had Franklin on their list after he rushed for a school-record 4,867 yards and 56 touchdowns in three seasons.
Okorafor will battle Jerald Hawkins, a fourth-round choice in 2016, for the top backup spot behind Villanueva and right tackle Marcus Gilbert. Munchak said he is not worried Okorafor is still kind of new to the position. After all, so was Villanueva.
“They’ve done a nice job with him and he’s developed nicely,” Munchak said. “And you see him get better each year, each time out there playing, because it is new to him and that’s kind of exciting for me because you get a guy that doesn’t have a whole lot of bad habits, doesn’t ask to do a lot things. He got away with things because of his size, his arms, his strength, those type of things which you know he’s not even close to being developed the way he can be.”
Nice gesture
The Steelers were obligated to pay Ryan Shazier $8,718,000 in salary over the course of the 2018 season. Instead, they opted to give nearly all of it to him now.
The Steelers converted $8.26 million of that base salary into a signing bonus so Shazier won’t have to wait until September to start being paid. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette confirmed the move by the Steelers, as first reported by ESPN’s Fred Yates.
The move does not change his salary cap hit but merely gets the money in the injured linebacker’s hands now.
The Steelers placed Shazier on the physically unable to perform list Wednesday, weeks after Kevin Colbert announced he would not play in 2018.
Shazier has been rehabbing from his spinal injury and walked to the podium to announce the Steelers’ firstround draft pick April 26. He has been assisting the team’s scouting department while he rehabs.