South Dakota State certainly isn’t Alabama or Ohio State, but that doesn’t mean they can’t produce good players. With their fourth-round pick this year, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected OG Mason McCormick from South Dakota State, and some analysts are already raving about the pick.
During a live recording on YouTube of the NFL Draft, Brett Kollmann and EJ Snyder of Bootleg Football gushed over the pick, proclaiming McCormick to be a future great player.
“Like three years from now, we’re gonna look back at this pick and go, ‘man, if they just coulda ’cause he is gonna be such a great Steeler,” said Snyder.
Mason McCormick is a very experienced college player, taking over 3,300 snaps at left guard in his six years at South Dakota State. As a guard, he likely will not start over either James Daniels or Isaac Seumalo unless something crazy happens this summer, but he is a great potential player for the future and backup with a ton of experience if he is needed to be called on.
Kollmann also praised McCormick, expecting him to be active every game. He said that the Steelers’ offensive line is now set for a long time after their last two drafts.
“He’s gonna be active every single game day because he’s gonna be, at least to start, your swing guard and your backup center all in one,” said Kollmann. “So your starting five is gonna be Troy Fautanu, Isaac Seuamlo, Zach Frazier, James Daniels, Broderick Jones. And we’ll figure out which side each tackle is playing later. Then you got Mason as your guard and center. You got Dan Moore as your swing tackle. Like offensive line is good, forever.”
Mason McCormick apparently told the Bootleg Football crew he has experience calling protections as a guard because he did that at South Dakota State at times. If McCormick can beat out OG Nate Herbig, he could be the inside swing guard on game day, but we will see how that role plays out over the summer.
Overall, Pittsburgh has done a great job beefing up its offensive line. Over the past years, many fans and analysts have called for them to improve their line. Since 2020, it has been bad, with some gradual improvements in the past two seasons. With the addition of Mason McCormick, Troy Fautanu, and Zach Frazier from this draft class, and Broderick Jones from last year, Pittsburgh has a really bright future in the trenches.
Obviously, all of these players have to develop, and that is not a guarantee. But if they do, Pittsburgh will have another great core at the offensive line, possibly rivaling the Maurkice Pouncey-led group of the mid-2010s.
There are many other needs the Steelers need to address in the future if they are going to compete for a Super Bowl, as they are not just an offensive line away. But with the additions Pittsburgh has made to their line the last two offseasons, for now, they can focus in another direction. It isn’t certain the line is fixed yet, but the players needed to fix it are here. Now, it is up to the coaching staff to develop them.
