First-round rookie Broderick Jones received most of the attention in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason opener Friday night. Seventh-round rookie Spencer Anderson was praised for his versatility, playing both guard spots and right tackle. Rightfully so, those two are worth talking about.
Just don’t forget about the forgotten man: OT Dylan Cook. A former college quarterback, Cook was signed by the Steelers in the middle of May. With several strong practices and a good preseason opener, he’s making a strong push for a practice squad spot. Here’s his positive tape from Friday.
We’ll break this down into pass protection, run blocking, and general athleticism.
Pass Protection
First clip. Cook is No. 60 at right tackle. Facing the left defensive end, Cook flashes the dead/bait hand, faking his punch to try and get the defensive end to commit and shoot his hands. Soon after, he makes contact as the left defensive end tries to power rush Cook. Cook’s able to respond with the snatch and trap technique, using his inside hand to attack the joint of the right defensive end’s inside arm (attacking the elbow, the softest part of the arm). It’s not perfect contact but it knocks the right defensive end off-balance.
QB Tanner Morgan has already gotten rid of the ball by then and the right defensive end does have vision on that. But I like the hand use and the technique from Cook, who has shown this tool in his belt throughout practice. In fact, he used the same move during Sunday’s practice against Toby Ndukwe.
You see a more effective version of this move here. Cook has good, though not great length (33.5-inch arms) but he does well to make “first significant contact” (a must for OL Coach Pat Meyer) on the left defensive end. Cook is again able to use his inside hand to knock down the inside arm of the Bucs pass rusher, sending him to the ground. It’s a clear win.
Different coaching point here. Pre-snap, there is a 3-tech in the B gap between right guard and right tackle with the right defensive end walked out initially. He threatens off the edge on the snap. Cook gets into his pass set but protects the inside B gap first in case the defensive tackle and the right defensive end are running a twist, using his backside “drag hand” to his outside initially.
Once the defensive tackle spikes inside and there is no game or twist, Cook is able to get his head to the left defensive end and effectively seal him up the arc. The right defensive end is pushed upfield as QB Tanner Morgan climbs the pocket before hitting WR Hakeem Butler downfield.
It’s a nice job to protect against the inside threat here, displaying a good football IQ based off the defensive tackle’s alignment and the front, while having the athleticism to also take away the outside speed rush.
Run Game
Again, Cook the right tackle (No. 60) here. Watch him execute a cutoff/reach block on the 3T, aligned to the outside shoulder of the right guard. It’s a tough block for the right tackle to get across his face and cut him off without much help. But Cook does it, essentially boxing out, like a basketball player for a rebound, and sealing the defensive tackle off.
There’s other issues here. C Ryan McCollum has an issue reaching his defensive tackle on the play, and the run by RB Greg Bell goes nowhere. But Cook did his job. And did it really well.
Another example. Cook climbing and working to the MIKE linebacker. After chipping the right defensive end so TE Zach Gentry can overtake, Cook reaches the linebacker. You can see the torque Cook has to wall him off and finish with good leg drive.
Again, the run bounces and doesn’t go anywhere but Cook does a nice job here, showing off his torque and finish.
Athleticism
This is technically pass protection but comes on a running back screen. So not a traditional pass pro rep. Still, Cook is on the backside of this screen and he’s blocking with a relatively normal set. Now at left tackle, Cook is quick off the ball. He kickslides on his 45-degree angle when the right defensive end spikes inside. Cook is able to redirect and close that move off, critical to give his quarterback time on the screen, and maintains contact as the right defensive end reverses course and outside.
Cook doesn’t perfectly seal things off here, but Morgan is getting extra depth to buy time for the screen, changing the junction point for the offensive tackle (the line where the defensive end has to turn upfield to reach the quarterback, the more depth the quarterback gets, the harder it is for the offensive tackle to block it).
The focus here is on Cook’s feet. Firing off the ball, redirecting inside, and still getting a piece on the edge. Good movement skills from Cook.
Final Thoughts
It wasn’t perfect for Cook. His run blocking was weaker in his pass protection and he fell off blocks too consistently. But the tools are there. Cook has great feet and good technique with a solid punch and play strength. He’s quick off the ball and assignment-sound while repping both tackle spots throughout camp.
There’s every reason to believe he’ll make the practice squad. Pittsburgh’s tackle depth isn’t the greatest, veteran Le’Raven Clark has predictably struggled, leaving Cook and Anderson as some backup options behind the top three of Chukwuma Okorafor, Dan Moore Jr., and Broderick Jones.
