In the last few days following the conclusion of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers and GM Omar Khan have received quite a bit of praise for the haul that they put together, particularly along the offensive line.
The Steelers landed Washington’s Troy Fautanu in the first round, West Virginia’s Zach Frazier in the second round, and South Dakota State’s Mason McCormick in the fourth round, doing something for the first time since the 1976 draft, landing offensive linemen with three of the first five selections.
Though the additions of Fautanu and Frazier are drawing quite a bit of praise, the selection of McCormick has one offensive line analyst hesitant to heap praise.
Trench Warfare’s Brandon Thorn, one of the premier offensive line analysts in the industry, was a bit hesitant with the selection of McCormick, questioning whether he’ll be able to block bigger, stronger interior defensive linemen in the NFL.
“McCormick’s another one of those guys I was lower on than most. I had a fifth-round grade on McCormick. It was tough to come to terms with how different his film was with how he performed at the Shrine Game and how he tested,” Thorn said of McCormick on the latest episode of his Trench Warfare podcast. “He didn’t play to that level of testing, in my opinion, on film. I was just kind of underwhelmed with his film at South Dakota State. He has the size, the length, the square power, as a puller was all his best film was as a puller. But in terms of base blocks, angle drive blocks, I just didn’t see it.”
While Thorn added that everything he’s heard about McCormick, from a demeanor and work ethic standpoint, sticks out, the film was a cause for concern with him.
Coming out of the FCS level at South Dakota State, McCormick wasn’t facing the best of the best weekly. While he was a physically imposing offensive lineman who often could be categorized as a first-off-the-bus type, McCormick’s film left Thorn wanting a bit more.
Though McCormick had a strong week in Dallas at the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl and tested very well for the position, Thorn believes none of that really showed up on tape.
What did show up was the toughness and determination, which will help McCormick at the next level. But it will be a real challenge for him right away in training camp, going against the likes of Cameron Heyward and Keeanu Benton daily in practice.
The way Thorn sees it, the Steelers are going to find out quickly on McCormick if he can make it in the NFL or not.
“They’re gonna find out real quickly if the corner that he seemingly turned from film to Shrine was like real, real legit or not, because he’s gonna be having to block Keeanu Benton and Cam Heyward,” Thorn said of McCormick. “And I think the Steelers are gonna find out real quick if he’s gonna make it or not.”
That will be quite the “Welcome to the NFL” moment for McCormick right away in training camp. That could make or break him quickly in his foray into the NFL. If he can handle his own against guys like Heyward and Benton, then the jump from the FCS level to the NFL should be relatively easy for the experienced McCormick.
If not, it could be a longer developmental phase for the guy who had 3,400+ career snaps in college.
