A new series to get you ready for training camp. While much of our attention and all the headlines will be on the big-name players, QB Kenny Pickett’s jump, how OT Broderick Jones looks, and new defensive starters like CB Patrick Peterson, the summer is a great time to uncover that training camp darling. Just in the way RB Jaylen Warren was that guy last season, we’re highlighting potential sleepers who could be pushing for a roster spot come final cutdowns.
Camp Sleeper: C Ryan McCollum
Lost in the Steelers’ o-line shuffle is McCollum, who admittedly isn’t someone recognized for good reason. He spent all of last season on Pittsburgh’s practice squad, its healthy starting five essentially never requiring a backup to play, let alone an elevation.
McCollum enters this year with more experience and size. He wasn’t added to the Steelers’ 90-man roster until late in training camp in 2022, meaning he didn’t get to go through an entire offseason process with Pittsburgh. This year, he’s been with the team start to finish and there’s a real benefit to that.
While he hasn’t played a down in Pittsburgh, he has NFL experience. He started one game and logged 101 snaps for the Detroit Lions in 2021 after their line was hit by injuries. His size is solid at 6’5, 307 pounds with 33 5/8-inch arms, a different body type than Steelers centers of the present and recent past – guys like Kendrick Green and J.C. Hassenauer – and also gives him the stoutness to play guard, too.
McCollum is a sleeper because of that size, experience, and primarily because of the opportunity. The backup center spot as Mason Cole’s understudy is wide open. Hassenauer wasn’t tendered and signed with the New York Giants. It leaves the competition as Green versus McCollum versus rookie Spencer Anderson versus maybe guard Nate Herbig. But Herbig is primarily a guard, it’s not clear how much center work Anderson will receive, and Green…you know the story there. Now, they’re also all competing against the field, a potential outside addition like Jimmy Morrissey, but McCollum has as good a case to make for that spot as anyone right now.
In camp, centers are hard to watch. They’re literally in the middle of the action and from my angled views, can get lost in the mess of players. It’s easiest to observe them in 1v1 drills but I wouldn’t be surprised if McCollum gets praised for his steadiness this summer and charges hard for one of the final backup o-line spots.
