The Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t help themselves when Mason McCormick fell to them in the fourth round. Even though most draft projections indicated that’s about where he belonged, the Steelers didn’t see him that way. A physical road grader, they covet what he brings to the offensive line room.
That’s why they didn’t hesitate to draft him even after taking two offensive linemen in the first two rounds. Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier are likely Day One starters, but there’s virtually no chance of McCormick having that opportunity. Not this year, anyway, but general manager Omar Khan is playing both the present and the future.
“It was a strong offensive line group. We’ve talked plenty of times about how we feel about the importance of the offensive line,” he said after the draft, via the team’s website. “It just kind of worked that way for us.”
“Even in the fourth round when we had a chance to get Mason McCormick, he’s a guy that we had rated really high up there,” he continued, “and we have a couple players at the position who are in the last year of their contracts and felt it was important to address it if he was there, and we did.”
The players to which Khan refers are starting RG James Daniels and reserve Nate Herbig. The Steelers signed Daniels as an unrestricted free agent in 2022 on a three-year, $26.5 million deal. Herbig joined the team in free agency a year ago on a two-year, $8 million contract. This could be the last year in Pittsburgh for either or both of them.
Daniels hasn’t disappointed by any means, even if he didn’t blossom into a Pro Bowler. Barring some slow starts the past two years, he has provided quality play at the guard position, particularly in pass protection. But he’ll still be 28 when he hits the open market again and could cash in beyond what they feel they can pay.
After all, they have three high-pedigree future contracts to consider along the offensive line now. They have two first-round tackles in Fautanu and Broderick Jones and a second-round guard in Frazier. If Mason McCormick can plug a hole at guard in the next couple of years, that’s a big win.
It’s also part of what the draft is for: replenishing rosters, and that’s exactly what McCormick does. The Steelers believe in him, as Khan indicated. I’ll quote his words again: “He’s a guy that we had rated really high up there.”
I can pretty much guarantee you both Fautanu and Frazier were included in the Steelers’ initial top 20 players list. McCormick wouldn’t have been in there, but if they graded him as a second-round talent, it wouldn’t surprise me.
Now he’s in the system and they’ll have plenty of time to see what they can make of him. For one thing, will they work him at center or leave him exclusively at guard? Dressing eight linemen now, you don’t need a center-capable guard any longer. Unless your backup center suffers an injury, of course. Then you’d better have someone else who can play in a pinch.
