Player: OL Mason McCormick
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: Despite a solid rookie season for Mason McCormick, Steelers HC Mike Tomlin declined to commit Sunday to a starting five. Given that he was a backup, the most reasonable interpretation would be that he was referring chiefly to McCormick. That doesn’t mean he won’t start, but we’ve heard rumblings throughout the offseason about the Steelers potentially adding a guard.
Now, hear me out before you start freaking out over the notion that the Steelers shouldn’t already be working on Mason McCormick’s Hall of Honor display. The second-year guard only started due to injury last year and had an up-and-down season.
Many will choose to interpret Mike Tomlin’s comments yesterday chiefly through the prism of Broderick Jones. But I don’t think there is any question that Jones will start this year—they don’t even have anybody else. It’s less clear that Mason McCormick will start, and he should expect to need to earn his job.
I like McCormick as much as any Steelers fans, but they are still working on building this offensive line. They know that they have to keep looking for improvements, and they’ve invested in tackle and center. At guard, they have a 2024 fourth-round pick and an aging veteran in Isaac Seumalo. If they are going to invest anywhere, it will be at guard.
Interestingly, betting odds even put offensive line fairly high as the Steelers’ first-round target. I don’t see that happening in any realistic scenario. But could they draft an offensive lineman relatively high, if the value is there? Absolutely, and that lineman could challenge Mason McCormick.
A fourth-round pick out of South Dakota State, Mason McCormick competed for a depth spot along the Steelers’ offensive line in training camp. He entered the regular season as a third-string player but soon passed Spencer Anderson. After James Daniels’ season-ending injury, they turned to him to take over. By and large, he acquitted himself well, but he’ll be held to a higher standard this year if he starts.
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 thatchange the team talked about 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 is going to look like. Once the dust settles on free agency, we turn our attentionto the 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?
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