How he fits: Gennings Dunker, G, Iowa – With their third pick of the third round, the Steelers drafted guard Gennings Dunker, a 6-5, 319-pounder who spent most of his time at Iowa as a right tackle, but who offensive line coach James Campen expects to line up at guard with the Steelers.
“At this point he’ll be in the guard position,” said Campen. “Tackle will be his second, probably, position.”
Dunker started 37 games the last three seasons at right tackle, after spending his freshman season as a reserve guard. Dunker played guard at the Senior Bowl and felt comfortable right away.
“At Iowa, our tackles play like guards,” said Dunker. “So the biggest difference is kind of things happen faster, like the point of contact happens a little bit faster at guard compared to tackle.”
Iowa, of course, has produced many NFL offensive linemen over the years. The Hawkeyes last season won the Joe Moore Award honoring the top offensive line in the nation.
“They’re so well coached at Iowa. When they come out they have established pad level and footwork,” said Campen. “Got a lot of respect for that football program and the people who run it.
“To be able to get a guy like him, a big, powerful kid that has position flexibility and has shown leadership, and his play is really, really unique; and you always look for guys that are first in the line doing things that are challenging or different, like he did the Senior Bowl.”
Counting Dunker as a guard, Campen will monitor a potential three-way battle, along with Spencer Anderson and free agent acquisition Blake Hoffman, in a competition for the opening at left guard.
The returning starter at right guard is Mason McCormick, who, ironically, was the comparison used by NFL.com for Dunker.
“You can never have enough big guys in the room,” Campen said. “We have enough people in there now where the competition is exciting. Yeah, it is. And really the makeup of that room is such that it’s almost like they want that competition.”