Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Dylan Cook steadily improved throughout the offseason and staked his claim to a spot on the 53-man roster. Alex Kozora noted his ascent through training camp and be sure to check out this article for more on Cook’s backstory. This article will focus on him from a data perspective, so let’s jump right in and learn more.
First, I wanted to look at his college career. He redshirted after transferring to Montana in 2018, and then earned a starting role by 2019. Cook played in only two games in 2020, a season lost to COVID. His final season was 2021, capping his solid college career. In totality, Cook played 98 percent of his snaps at right tackle, along with a bit of left tackle in 2019 in his time with the Grizzlies.
So, Cook played substantially in 2019 and 2021, primarily at right tackle. Here is how he fared in those seasons at the position (minimum of 700 snaps per season to qualify):
Right away we see Cook’s strength was pass blocking (PBLK). In 2019, his 79.7 PBLK grade ranked 45th among FBS/FCS tackles that season (742 snaps), and he improved to an 83.6 in 2021 (33rd). Across both seasons, he impressively allowed just two sacks. Cook also improved as a run blocker (RBLK), landing below average in 2019 with a 62.9 RBLK grade (T-111th), then making a substantial improvement to 79.2 in 2021 that ranked 42nd on a similar 734 snaps.
Yes, his career at Montana was against lower-level competition, but he encouragingly trended upward as he gained more experience at a new position — interestingly, Cook played quarterback before transferring) — particularly as a run blocker.
Though Cook hasn’t gotten an NFL regular-season opportunity yet, I wanted to look at and provide his preseason grades the last two seasons, using no snap minimums since playing time is so sporadic (starters playing limited snaps, etc.):
Here we see a similar takeaway to Cook’s college career. After going undrafted, his first NFL preseason game was with the Buccaneers. He was well above average among his peers with a 72.8 PBLK grade (59th) on 73 snaps. The other side of the coin was a poor 37.0 run-block grade that tied for 163rd, eighth worst among qualifiers that year. A notable change was all of his opportunities came at left tackle, very important context.
This preseason with Pittsburgh, Cook rose up to the NFL mean with a 61.5 run block grade (T-85th), and also provided good pass blocking once again, with a 71.3 grade (T-64th) on an increased 101 snaps. 71 of them came at right tackle, 26 at left guard, and four at left tackle.
So, the data highlights Cook’s consistent strength as a pass blocker through college and NFL preseason action. We also saw him trend upward in college and the pros as a run blocker, highlighting his hard-working nature, and improving his game wasn’t limited to what we saw this summer. His snap experience suggests right tackle is his best spot, particularly after struggling with Tampa Bay in the 2022 preseason at left tackle. Cook did put out some nice tape at left guard this preseason with Pittsburgh. Displaying some versatility was likely the icing on the cake in regard to earning his roster spot, props and well-deserved achievement to round out the position room.
The unit will certainly need to fare well this season. On paper, it is one of the strongest and deepest the team has had in some time.
Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts in the comments.
