After starting the first two rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft with the selections of Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu and West Virginia center Zach Frazier, the Pittsburgh Steelers wanted to build the offensive line even more by triple-dipping in the fourth round. The player they took there was guard Mason McCormick of South Dakota State. Stats are more limited for a small-school products such as McCormick, so today’s view will be a bit different than ones of Fautanu and Frazier, using Pro Football Focus (PFF).
The data in this study looks at their final college season in 2023, focusing on the players who heard their name called in the draft. The goal is to see how McCormick stacked up among his peers.
First, let’s look at snap totals for the offensive guards last year:
McCormick lands in the middle of the pack with 725 offensive snaps in 2023, ranking eighth out of the 16 qualifying linemen. That isn’t bad news considering he started all 15 games last season, along with a whopping 70 games on his college resume, including an impressive 57 straight games that set a school record. Knock on wood that McCormick’s experience and overall durability are a solid foundation for success in the NFL.
Next, I wanted to provide PFF run- and pass-blocking grades:
Encouragingly, McCormick stands out in a league of his own as a run blocker, with an excellent top-ranked 91.2 run block grade. He was well above-average among his drafted peers in pass blocking too, with a great 85.6 pass-block grade that ranked fourth.
Very encouraging marks indeed, fitting the bill of his pre-draft scouting reports, describing nasty run blocking as one of his biggest strengths. He fared very well in athletic drills, posting an impressive 9.96 RAS (on a 10.0 scale), but it didn’t always show up on tape.
That ability is surely something the Steelers are hoping they can coach up, which would boost McCormick’s potential to a possible steal considering his draft spot.
On the flipside, the small-school factor definitely needs to be taken into account. While McCormick fared very well against his opponents overall, the big step up in competition at the next level is a concern. The bright side is there not being a rush to do so with Steelers guards Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels still in the fold.
It is a wait-and-see game of course, but there’s a lot to like about McCormick, and what Pittsburgh envisions it can help mold him into.
To wrap up, let’s look at a more total view with PFF’s offensive grades, and which NFL teams made their dreams a reality by selecting them:
Topping the list very comfortably is McCormick with an 88.9 offensive grade, over five points better than his peers. Adding to that feat is ranking fifth among all offensive linemen (minimum of 450 snaps) in all of college football, regardless of division.
Along those same lines, his stronger run-blocking grade ranked a stellar second in those terms. His pass-block grade tied for a lower 44th, which doesn’t sound like much but is actually respectable considering the thousands of players who qualified in this view.
McCormick also kept his quarterback clean as a pass blocker overall, with no sacks or hits allowed and only three pressures. While there are definitely things to improve on, the data leaves me very encouraged about McCormick. Here’s to hoping the transition to Pittsburgh, and the NFL, goes swimmingly.
