The struggles of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense this year has been a surprise. At least, relative to how it looked in the summer and the expectations created. But perhaps the biggest shock of that unit so far has been the man in the middle, center Mason Cole. Through three games, he has not played well and doesn’t look like the steady and stable presence he was in his first year with the team.
According to Pro Football Focus, Cole ranks as the 32nd center in football out of 35 qualifiers. He’s only ahead of the Colts’ Wesley French, the Bears’ Lucas Patrick, and Giants rookie John Michael Schmitz. I’m not one to lean on PFF grades much, I’m far more interested in their stats and more objective measures, but these numbers offer leaguewide relativity I can’t otherwise provide. His poor grade certainly matches the tape, so the ranking here isn’t unfounded or lost in a haze of an opaque grading system.
To go a step further, Cole is rated as the worst pass-protecting center in football. His 26.8 grade is four points lower than the next-closest player. Cole’s run-blocking grade is only marginally better, 28th among all qualifying centers. According to our charting, he’s allowed 1.5 sacks through the team’s first three games, equaling the number we charged him for all of last season.
As a run blocker, Cole has particularly struggled, especially in the team’s zone schemes. He’s fallen off too many blocks and allowed disruption and penetration, which has forced runners to cut back and end up with unsuccessful runs. As just one example, watch him lose the block against the defensive tackle on this zone run, forcing RB Jaylen Warren to cut back. There are multiple errors on this play, a free linebacker backside, whatever TE Pat Freiermuth is trying to do, but defenses have slanted down into gaps and Pittsburgh has struggled to stay on track.
It’s just one example. But one of many. Cole doesn’t look like the same guy from 2022. Not that last season was an All-Pro caliber year. It wasn’t. Still, Cole was consistent and did well to anchor the middle, even while playing hurt for most of the year.
To his credit, there are intangibles he brings to the table that can’t be quantified in a PFF grade. He’s smart and a hard worker who has probably been helpful to a young quarterback like Kenny Pickett. There’s something to be said for his availability and it’s remarkable how durable this entire front five has been. It literally could be historic, no starter missing a game since the end of the 2021 season. But if anything, you’d think that cohesiveness would improve the group overall. Hasn’t been the case.
And there is no alternative option to consider. Nate Herbig isn’t a natural center and will only replace Cole in case of injury while rookie Spencer Anderson can’t be thrown into the fire. Cole will continue to start. The hope is he just gets better and puts a rough couple of weeks behind him.
