Steelers 2024 Rookie Review: Round 4, OG, Mason McCormick
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team who loves to build their team from the ground up. In other words, they’ve always been a team who loves to build through the draft, instead of finding players on the open market via free agency. With the 2024 season now officially over, it is the perfect time of year to take a look back at the past season’s rookie class.
Who were the impact players, and who were those who left plenty to be desired? Let’s get the recap started…
Player: Mason McCormick
Position: Offensive Guard
Drafted: Round 4 (119th Pick)
2024 Statistics:
Games Played: 17
Games Started: 14
PFF Grade: Overall 57.7 / Run Block: 53.7 / Pass Block: 63.2
Recap: The Steelers have put a lot of draft capital in the offensive line over the past two years, and McCormick was a part of that. However, McCormick was never viewed as an answer in his rookie season. Nonetheless, the ruptured Achilles Tendon of James Daniels forced him into the lineup, and he was thrown into the proverbial fire.
McCormick didn’t play horribly, but he also didn’t play at a level which should have the Steelers feeling confident about the guard position heading into the new league year. And that isn’t McCormick’s fault, heaping high expectations on a 4th round player out of South Dakota State seems hasty, at best.
I think McCormick is a player you can hope develops in Year 2, but I wouldn’t shy away from bringing in an interior offensive lineman to compete, or be an upgrade, heading into 2025. If the team decided to bring back a player like Daniels, who should be at a cheaper rate after his injury, and the two players compete for the right guard job, that would be the best-case scenario. McCormick is a piece to the puzzle, but isn’t an answer to the interior offensive line. His experience garnered in his rookie year will absolutely help him moving forward.
The Steelers will have some serious decisions to make along the offensive line, and the play of McCormick at right guard will be one of those questions to be answered this offseason. If the team does nothing, they believe McCormick can be “that guy” for them. If they go out and add at the position, well, that tells you how they feel about him in his sophomore season.
2024 Steelers NFL Draft Recaps
Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of the offseason.
If he works on his technique a little more during the offseason, I honestly think he could be a good long-term fit. I absolutely love that guy’s mindset and fight. He’s hungry brings the nasty which is something you love to see.
He absolutely has the grit for the position. I hope he pans out, but it’s a position of concern for me heading into the offseason.
The third paragraph says it all “Is a player we hope develops in year 2”.
There is where our problem lies with offensive and defensive line coaches. Who have they really developed? Who has made that 2nd year leap? If you miss on one guy that may just be a miss. But when the group does not develop that is the coaching and the scheme.
I hope I am wrong but waiting for the development may take longer than we realize.
Dotson got so developed in B&G that he made a big jump his first year in LA.
I think Dotson had an oh $h1t moment when the Steelers were ready to walk away from him. Woke him up and got him to be a better worker. The talent was always there, and the Steelers liked him. He just didn’t have any maturity in Pittsburgh.