Chukwuma Okorafor


Chukwuma Okorafor is a Nigerian professional American football offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He played college football at Western Michigan.

Early life

Okorafor was born in Nigeria, and lived in South Africa and Botswana, before his family immigrated to the United States in 2010.

College career

Okorafor played college football for Western Michigan from 2014 to 2017. In 2016 and 2017, he was named to the All-MAC first team. In 2017, he was named a FWAA First Team All-American.

Professional career

On December 11, 2017, it was announced that Okorafor accepted his invitation to play in the Senior Bowl. Okorafor sustained an injury during practice in preparation for the Senior Bowl and was expected to miss the game. On January 27, 2018, Okorafor played in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl and was a part of Denver Broncos' head coach Vance Joseph's North team that lost 45–16 to Houston Texans' head coach Bill O'Brien's South team. Okorafor attended private workouts and visits with the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Okorafor was projected to be a third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the sixth best offensive tackle in the draft by Sports Illustrated, was ranked the ninth best offensive tackle by DraftScout.com, and was ranked the 11th best offensive tackle by Scouts Inc.
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Okorafor in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Okorafor was the 11th offensive tackle drafted in 2018.
On May 22, 2018, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Okorafor to a four-year, $3.40 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $812,364.
On November 25, 2018, against the Denver Broncos, Okorafor made his first NFL start at right tackle due to injuries to Marcus Gilbert and Matt Feiler. During the 2018 NFL season, he had also made two starts as a tight end, being used by the Steelers as an extra tackle.
On November 10, 2019, against the Los Angeles Rams, Okorafor made his first start of the 2019 NFL season due to an injury to Ramon Foster.