When the Pittsburgh Steelers opened day three of the draft by selecting small school standout Mason McCormick, it signaled exactly what this team is going to be about.
With multiple corners and a few solid WRs on the board, Pittsburgh tripled down and selected the third lineman of their first five picks.
But according to OL guru Brandon Thorn, that may not have been the best idea:
Not High on McCormick
"McCormick's another one of those guys I was lower on than most. I had a fifth-round grade on McCormick. It was tough to come to terms with how different his film was with how he performed at the Shrine Game and how he tested," Thorn said of McCormick on the latest episode of his Trench Warfare podcast. "He didn't play to that level of testing, in my opinion, on film. I was just kind of underwhelmed with his film at South Dakota State. He has the size, the length, the square power, as a puller was all his best film was as a puller. But in terms of base blocks, angle drive blocks, I just didn't see it."
Part of the reason the Steelers selected McCormick is because of how impressive his pre-draft measurements and testing were, something Thorn didn't necessarily agree with when doing his film eval:
"They're gonna find out real quickly if the corner that he [McCormick] seemingly turned from film to Shrine [Bowl] was like real, real legit or not because he's gonna be having to block Keeanu Benton and Cam Heyward," Thorn added. "And I think the Steelers are gonna find out real quick if he's gonna make it or not."
Thorn is referring to training camp, where McCormick's first exposure to the NFL will come against one of the league's best defensive line and pass-rushing units.
The good news though, and the part I think Thorn may be missing, is that, unlike the first two linemen that Pittsburgh drafted, McCormick can sit and learn instead of starting right away. The team is set at guard for the upcoming season with James Daniels and Isaac Seumalo at right and left guard respectively.
That bodes well for him as Pittsburgh aims to turn an athletic marvel into a technically sound starter.
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