The Pittsburgh Steelers are hosting South Dakota State offensive lineman Mason McCormick for a pre-draft visit on Monday. McCormick is another center option and, most noticeably, the first real mid-round center option that the team has brought into the facility. It should be noted that McCormick played left guard his entire college career, but he worked at the center at the Shrine Bowl and is working there throughout the process, too, meaning that he could be a mid-round option.
As it stands, McCormick would be an option for the Steelers at 98th and 119th overall. That really is the sweet spot for a player like him, who has a little bit of rawness in his game but still has the athletic traits that stick out and could allow him to play early on. Something to note is that is arms are longer than your average guard or center at 33 7/8 inches, and he paired that with good athleticism. McCormick ran a 5.08 40-yard dash, had a 35 1/2-inch vertical jump and put up 32 bench press reps at his pro day.
McCormick is a stout, well-built pass rusher and he is strong. His core strength might be his best trait, and he pairs that with fantastic grip strength to stop most interior pass rushers in their tracks. Most guys do not have the combo of pure strength and balance for where he will go, and he has some real upside to become a starter-level player in the NFL. He can get caught leaning a bit at times and his hand placement gets wide, opening up his chest and allowing defenders to push-pull him. But once he cleans up some of those technical issues, he feels like someone who has some real starting potential in the NFL.
So, it seems like the Steelers are broadening their horizons a bit when looking for a solution at the center position. But McCormick checks off just about all the boxes you would look for someone to fill in the Arthur Smith offense.
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