**Player: OL Ryan McCollum**
**Stock Value: Up**
**Reasoning:** _Ryan McCollum may have cemented himself as the Steelers’ backup center last season. Whether of his own merit or not, he figures to hold that role again following Nate Herbig’s departure. A year ago, the Steelers envisioned Herbig competing for the starting job. Following a season-ending injury, McCollum suddenly found himself on the 53-man roster, but he earned his place._
Many expected the Steelers to try to re-sign Nate Herbig on the cheap as experienced depth; having failed to do so, the stars align for Ryan McCollum to assume the full-time backup center position. He handled that role well last season, with rookie starter Zach Frazier missing two games. Having been around the league for a few years, including three in the Steelers organization, he does have experience.
McCollum played in four games for the Steelers on offense last season, including two starts, totaling 151 snaps. It was the first time he saw the field since 2021 with the Detroit Lions, making one start that year. He found himself on Pittsburgh’s practice squad for the two years in between.
Were it not for Herbig’s injury, he was likely destined for that fate again. But one man’s misfortune is another’s opportunity, as they say, and Ryan McCollum seized upon that opportunity to show the Steelers his value.
They didn’t count on needing him to prove it, but he didn’t disappoint them. Toward the middle of the year, Frazier suffered an ankle injury, causing him to miss two games. McCollum stepped in, including in Russell Wilson’s debut, and the Steelers didn’t miss a beat offensively.
That’s not to say he played equally well as their rookie starter. Still, his play allowed them to run their offense without major adjustments or a significant decline in execution quality. Perhaps it was McCollum’s play that allowed the Steelers to feel they didn’t need to re-sign Herbig.
Still, it’s surprising that they didn’t, given that he signed just a one-year Veteran Salary Benefit deal. Having also lost starter James Daniels, they lack some depth. The Steelers did claim Lecitus Smith off waivers, adding to McCollum and Spencer Anderson as interior reserves.
_With the new league year underway and the Steelers turning their roster over, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that_ [_change the team talked about_](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/02/steelers-make-their-coaching-changes-they-still-manage-to-disappoint/) _after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract._
_There is still a long way to go before we know what this Steelers team will look like. Once the dust settles on free agency, we turn our attention_ [_to the draft_](https://www.nfl.com/draft/)_, and so on. What other moves might the team make, perhaps unexpected acquisitions or departures? If they traded for one player, they could certainly trade for another or trade one away. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?_