Packers eyeing rising offensive tackle prospect as draft nears

GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers have a good stash of young, athletic behemoths on their offensive line, but they always could use another.

It’s why they have brought in Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor for a top-30 pre-draft visit. KPRC-2 in Houston was first to report the visit.

The 6-foot-6, 321-pound Iheanachor is a remarkable story. His parents moved from Nigeria to Compton, California, when he was 13 years old. Having played soccer in Nigeria, Iheanachor gravitated to basketball, in part because his high school did not have a football team.

His AAU basketball coach suggested he try football, and so he enrolled in East Los Angeles College to give it a try.

Arizona State offensive lineman Max Iheanachor blocks Mississippi State defensive lineman Trevion Williams.

“I mean, it was just after some summer basketball game, we just had a conversation in the car, on the ride back, and he was just kind of, like, advising me to play football, and he introduced me to the head coach at East Los Angeles College,” Iheanachor said at the NFL scouting combine. “Everything took off from there.”

For two years, he worked on building his body and learning offensive line technique. He started to draw more attention given his size and athleticism, and eventually landed at Arizona State.

He started five games as a redshirt sophomore before becoming the full-time right tackle, starting 26 games his final two seasons. After not giving up a sack his senior year, he was named second-team all-Big 12.

He received an invitation to the Senior Bowl and excelled against top competition.

“I'll definitely say my mindset is always, just keep being me, play confident, go out there, and always trust my abilities,” Iheanachor said. “To just go out there and get my job done, no matter what. So, I mean, it's a new level. Everybody's faster right here, I mean, just having confidence.