Chukwuma Okorafor.
“Chooks.”
Or is it “Chuks” of “Chucks” --- hell, I don’t know the official way most people go about spelling out his unofficial name; I’ll just go with Mr. Okorafor.
Anyhow, Mr. Okorafor better be really good this season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I’m not talking about average or a slight tick above average. No, he needs to be a lot closer to consistently one the best offensive Steelers than the worst if this is all going to work out.
Or, even, if this is going to work at all.
Let me explain a little …
Across the rest of the offensive front --- at left and right guard, center and right tackle --- you can get by with pretty much average play. If you get that this season, it would serve as an upgrade from what the Steelers received most of last season.
And, in my estimation the Steelers should get at least average play from Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green (albeit a rookie), Trai Turner and Zach Banner. I feel like – and maybe it is just a premonition – those four gentlemen will be at least average. And even if they are a shade below, it isn’t the end of the world as with some mixing and matching Joe Haeg, Rashad Coward, B.J. Finney and/or J.C. Hassenauer can be thrust into spot roles.
But Mr. Okorafor simply can’t fail. He can’t. If he does, it would be disastrous.
Think about it: The Steelers are allegedly implementing Matt Canada’s offensive which has an inordinate amount of slick ball-handling at the quarterback position and also many situations run out of play action where Big Ben will be asked to turn his back to linebackers.
Forget about one bad game or a bad stretch of games. If Mr. Okorafor blows one assignment or gets mixed up on a single snap, it could result in the quarterback getting absolutely demolished.
Such is the life of a left tackle for a right-handed quarterback in the NFL.
But it resonates even more so for a left tackle who is trying to protect a 39-year-old quarterback who seems to have lost a step or two in terms of escapability.
And if Mr. Okorafor doesn’t play well, does the organization really want a rookie left tackle who was drafted in the fourth round (Dan Moore, Jr.) thrown into the fire under such circumstances? Seems Moore is the type of lineman better suited to bring along from the shallow end to the deep end rather than being thrown directly into the 12 feet and told to swim.
Yeah, there’s really not a whole lot of leeway in all of this. There are a couple positions where the Pittsburgh Steelers could get by with slightly inadequately play and mayyyyybe still have a decent offensive season.
But with Mr. Okorafor? He better be more than just good. He better be really good.