When OT Dylan Cook made the 53-man roster, many had no idea who the guy was, let alone that he was deserving of a roster spot. However, from the Friday Night Lights practice on, Cook began to make a strong case to be more than just a camp body and continually improved, showing strong play in Pittsburgh’s three preseason games to earn a spot on the 53.
While Cook made the roster, he understands that he must continue to show improvement in order to stick on the roster for all of 2023 and beyond. To do that, he should look to another former Steeler who managed to make the 53-man roster after coming in as a former undrafted free agent: Alejandro Villanueva.
When you put Cook and Villanueva’s stories next to each other, you see several similarities. First, both Cook and Villanueva were initially skill position players in college with Cook being a quarterback for Montana State Northern before transferring to Montana to start playing offensive tackle. Villanueva played all over the place, seeing time at left tackle, on the defensive line, and at wide receiver.
Both Cook and Villanueva went undrafted with Cook catching on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent. He spent most of the 2022 season on the practice squad and came into the spring on the Buccaneers 90-man roster, but got waived, allowing Pittsburgh to come in and add him to the roster. Villanueva had to try out with several teams at tight end before signing with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014 to play defensive end. He ended up not making the roster and Pittsburgh added him to their practice squad, converting him to offensive tackle and having him develop there.
Villanueva would put on more weight and hone his technique at tackle over the course of the year, finally seeing action in 2015 when OT Kelvin Beachum went down with a torn ACL. The next season when Beachum left in free agency, Villanueva was named the started left tackle and didn’t look back, staying Pittsburgh’s starting left tackle through the 2020 season until they let him walk to sign with the Baltimore Ravens where he played for one season.
Cook may not be in-line to fight for a starting tackle spot like Villanueva did, but he is in a great spot to prove his worth to Pittsburgh and stick on the roster for more than just the 2023 season. We saw Cook’s position versatility in the preseason, an attribute that HC Mike Tomlin praised him for as he took snaps at both guard and tackle. He’s also young and on a cheap deal, being an inexpensive developmental piece Pittsburgh can keep on a cost-effective deal for multiple seasons.
During this time, Cook will have the opportunity to develop into a spot-starter/high-end backup player for Pittsburgh, being able to step in at tackle or guard if the need arises. With RT Chukwuma Okorafor’s deal coming up next season, Cook could play himself into the vital swing tackle role behind OTs Dan Moore Jr. and Broderick Jones, becoming that first man up should either miss time. It’s a little forward thinking for Cook, but for a guy with a similar background story to the league as Villanueva, Cook is set up to make a name for himself in the city of Pittsburgh. https://steelersdepot.com/2023/08/film-room-steelers-ot-dylan-cook-has-sleeper-performance-in-preseason-opener/
