The Pittsburgh Steelers struck gold with fourth-round guard Mason McCormick in 2024, stepping in and playing nearly 1,000 snaps in his rookie season. That isn’t the norm for picks outside the top two rounds. Could late third-round rookie Gennings Dunker follow suit with an open competition for one of Pittsburgh’s two guard spots this year?
“No, I don’t think so,” beat writer Mark Kaboly said Monday via 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show on Dunker’s odds of starting in Week 1. “I think you have a better chance of having Brock Hoffman start. I think it’s Spencer Anderson, Brock Hoffman, we’ll see where that goes. Right now, Dunker just needs time, which is fine.”
Based on their level of investment in the top 100 picks—including a small trade up to get him—the Steelers’ long-term vision for the line likely includes Dunker. The sooner they can get there to start building chemistry and cohesion, the better, but they won’t do that at the expense of the win-now window they have been working to create all offseason.
Spencer Anderson has played over 300 offensive snaps in each of the last two seasons and has a leg up on the competition in terms of his chemistry with the rest of the offensive line. The majority of his snaps last year came as a jumbo-package tackle eligible. It’s not exactly the same responsibilities as an interior offensive lineman.
Hoffman is new to the Steelers, but he isn’t new to Mike McCarthy’s offensive system. He spent his first three NFL seasons with McCarthy in Dallas and played 1,212 offensive snaps over the last three seasons, including 738 while McCarthy was there. Most importantly, 526 of those snaps came at guard, and all of them came as an interior offensive lineman.
Dunker, on the other hand, is coming into the league as a converted college tackle. Not only does he have to readjust to the speed of the game, which he already admitted has been a challenge, but he has to learn a new position.
It’s entirely possible Gennings Dunker could take over in the middle of the season with an injury to McCormick or one of the other guards. It doesn’t sound like he’s ready right away, which is completely fine. He could still find himself starting games for the Steelers during his rookie season if he shows good progress, or one of the other guards in front of him gets injured.
Recommended for you