After Pittsburgh Steelers LG Isaac Seumalo suffered a pectoral strain yesterday, which may keep him out a few games, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the team intends to allow Spencer Anderson and Mason McCormick to compete to fill in for the injured starter.
I argue that Mason McCormick should start, for multiple reasons. The first reason is the most important; that, even as a rookie, I believe he is the better player. I do like Anderson, and by no means do I intend to knock him, but I believe McCormick is a potential long-term starter.
A fourth-round pick out of South Dakota State, McCormick arguably passed up opportunities to improve his draft stock by transferring schools. He likely could have gone to a school that allowed him to face a higher level of competition. He chose not to because he felt it was important to be loyal to the school that was loyal to him.
Loyalty won’t win McCormick a starting job, of course—that’s just a way of explaining why he was a fourth-round pick. Reviewing his preseason tape, I am impressed with both his mobility and his technique. I believe he can play right now, especially at left guard, which is where he has most of his experience.
The Steelers gave Seumalo plenty of rest days during training camp, a serendipitous decision, it turns out. Having done so, they also got plenty of quality looks at both Mason McCormick and Spencer Anderson. Anderson played more of the first-team snaps, and Dulac reports that he will take the first snaps in this competition.
But I believe starting McCormick makes sense on multiple levels. Not only do I believe he is the better guard, Anderson is the more experienced center. With Nate Herbig sidelined, it makes sense to allow Anderson to focus more on center. As I’ve written previously, I have some reservations about throwing McCormick into that role right now. While I believe he is capable of developing consistency in his skill set, the window is small right now. The regular season is beginning very soon, so I want the guy with more center background playing center.
And I want the guy with more guard background playing guard. That’s Mason McCormick, who logged 3,395 college snaps at guard—all but 19 at left guard. And 15 snaps at center. He may be a rookie, but he is also 24 years old—older than Anderson—and is plenty experienced. For Anderson, his strongest asset at this point in his career is his versatility. While that’s an unfair penalty, that quality is best utilized in a reserve role.
Yes, the Steelers should take a look at all of their options, but they need to commit to somebody next week. At that point, it’s time to prepare for the Atlanta Falcons. And by then, I think it should be Mason McCormick lining up next to Zach Fraizer.
