The Pittsburgh Steelers are implementing quite the youth movement in the offensive line room under GM Omar Khan. They used their first-round selection last season on OT Broderick Jones and have taken three offensive linemen in the 2024 NFL Draft in Washington OT Troy Fautanu, West Virginia OC Zach Frazier, and South Dakota State OG Mason McCormick.
The idea here is pretty simple: build up a base of young talent along the offensive line so they can develop and grow together for years to come. And what makes this strategy potentially even more effective is the bond that their 2024 draft picks already have.
After getting taken in the fourth round today, McCormick shared the connection he already has with the other Steelers draft picks on a conference call with Pittsburgh reporters via 93.7 The Fan.
“I’ve gotten to know Troy pretty well. We went on our visit together,” McCormick said. “I actually trained with Zach, and so it’s extremely exciting and I’m just ready to get to work.”
Frazier and McCormick both trained under Duke Manyweather, an offensive line guru. Manyweather runs OL Masterminds, an offensive line scouting and development program. He trained many of the top 2024 draft prospects, including Georgia OT Amarius Mims and Penn State OT Olu Fashanu.
Many NFL teams will bring in players at the same time on visits intentionally to see how they interact and gauge their potential chemistry on and off the field. It’s impossible to know how much the team read into McCormick and Fautanu visiting together and how well that really went, but it’s certainly not a bad sign.
This draft class is shaping up to be a classic Steelers group. A lot of hard-nosed, experienced guys who love the game and are just good football players. The Steelers under Khan have shown a tendency to grab guys who were established college players and draft on production over potential. The 2024 draft has followed that trend.
McCormick played over 3,300 snaps at left guard in college. He’s clearly proven himself a few times over at the position. Frazier and Fautanu are similar in the sense that they have started at a high level and tallied a lot of snaps at their respective positions.
The trio of 2024 picks, along with Broderick Jones, look to be potential cornerstones of the Steelers offensive line for years to come. And one thing is for sure: it’s going to be a tough, physical group if nothing else.
