Tag: Mason McCormick

Sights and sounds from first half as Eagles hold a 17-13 lead over Steelers

Sights and sounds from first half as Eagles hold a 17-13 lead over Steelers

Philadelphia established its passing game and was dominant on defense, but the scoreboard tells a different story as the Eagles hold just a 17-13 lead over Pittsburgh after one half.

Vic Fangio’s defense held the Steelers to just 80 yards of offense on 30 plays in the first half, but two costly Eagles turnovers and two Chris Boswell field goals have Mike Tomlin’s team within four.

With the second half set to begin, we’re looking at sights and sounds from the first half.

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Steelers injury update: Starting guard non-committal on status vs Cowboys

Isaac Seumalo isn’t sure if he’s playing Sunday night or not against the Cowboys.

Last week the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line was dealt a serious blow when starting guard James Daniels was lost for the season with a torn Achilles. However, the hope was this week the team would get fellow starting guard Isaac Seumalo back after missing the first four games of the season to help bolster the offensive line against the Dallas Cowboys.

But when Seumalo spoke to the media on Friday, he wasn’t ready to declare himself playing this Sunday and instead left it up to head coach Mike Tomlin to make that call.

“Yeah, I feel pretty good,” Seumalo said. “I’ll let Coach Tomlin decide on that, but I felt good the past couple days.”

This doesn’t sound like a guy who is 100 percent and ready to roll. Seumalo has been dealing with a pectoral injury and it isn’t the type of injury you rush back from. We won’t be at all surprised if Tomlin opts to give him one more week of rest.

This would mean that rookie Mason McCormick would slide over from the left to the right to replace Daniels and Spencer Anderson would plug into Seumalo’s starting spot at left guard.

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Steelers add second rookie to starting offensive line vs Colts

Mason McCormick gets the start at left tackle tis week.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Indianapolis Colts in Week Four, they will do so with two rookies on the offensive line. According to Steelers beat reporter Gerry Dulac, guard Mason McCormick will get the start at left guard over Spencer Anderson.

McCormick replaced Anderson in the lineup last week against the Los Angeles Chargers and played well. According to Dulac, Anderson could still rotate in with McCormick.

The Steelers selected McCormick in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft out of South Dakota State. Most pundits considered the selection of McCormick a bargain for the Steelers and the pick was highly regarded as solid value.

https://twitter.com/gerrydulac/status/1840390217326293190

The Steelers also have Zach Frazier in the starting lineup as a rookie at center and if he didn’t go on IR, it’s like a third rookie, offensive tackle Troy Fautanu would be starting this week against the Colts as well.

McCormick gets the start while starting left guard Isaac Seumalo continues to inch his way back from a pectoral injury. There was some hope that Seumalo might play this week but he was ruled out late.

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Position battle for starting offensive line heats up after injury

The Steelers will have a new starting left guard in Week One.

Just when we thought things couldn’t get more stressful for the Pittsburgh Steelers and their offensive line, another injury has popped up and set a new position battle into motion just a week from the start of the season.

First, we had rookie offensive tackle Troy Fautanu suffered a knee strain ending the position battle for starting left tackle for the time being.

However, when starting left guard Isaac Seumalo went down with a pectoral injury in practice, a whole new position battle arose. Seumalo’s injury isn’t expected to be season-ending however, he is sure to miss several weeks.

This means it will be a competition between veteran Spencer Anderson and rookie Mason McCormick for that spot in the starting lineup. McCormick has been impressive in the preseason but the Steelers might opt for the veteran experience of Anderson due to the fact that another rookie, Zach Frazier, is now the team’s starting center.

Pittsburgh kicks off its season in Atlanta against the new-look Falcons. It is imperative the Steelers get off to a fast start this season to keep pace in a crowded AFC.

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Fight breaks out at Steelers training camp practice, and Mike Tomlin isn’t happy

The Steelers have their first fight of training camp this week.

We saw our first big scrum of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp on Wednesday. Fights are inevitable when players are competing for roster spots and there is a lot you can learn about players from how a fight happens and the players involved.

The fight on Wednesday started when quarterback Justin Fields took a big hit from linebacker Elandon Roberts on a run. Rookie guard Mason McCormick did what any offensive lineman should do and he went down and laid a hit on Roberts, having his quarterback’s back.

This wasn’t something head coach Mike Tomlin liked seeing.

“We got a little bit less than professional and chippy today,” said Tomlin. “It’s an opportunity to teach and learn. As part of this process as much as we hate it, we’ll learn and grow from that. We got some form of lessons to learn.”

The Steelers are preparing for their first preseason game against the Houston Texans on Aug. 9.

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How the Steelers switched their offensive line from weakness to strength

In the last two drafts, the Pittsburgh Steelers transformed their offensive line from a glaring weakness to a potential strength.

“We’re looking for guys with talent. Oftentimes that talent is coupled with experience. It’s good to have a group that is mature as players and as people, and I think that’s reflective of the collective that you’re talking about. All that means is we should expect those guys to have a high floor and maybe have a good presentation of what they’re capable of early on, and for that, we’re excited certainly.”

That’s what Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said of the offensive line pieces he and general manager Omar Khan put together in the draft, and why wouldn’t he be excited? The Steelers’ offensive line has been a major problem for multiple years and multiple offensive playcallers, and new OC Arthur Smith will at least have a wildly upgraded front five with which to do whatever it is he is going to do with his playbook.

The Steelers went all-in here, selecting Washington tackle Troy Fautanu with the 20th overall pick, West Virginia center Zach Frazier with the 51st overall pick in the second round, and South Dakota State guard Mason McCormick with the 119th overall pick in the fourth round. Add in veteran guard Isaac Seumalo (one of two bright spots on that line last season), and 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones (he was the other), and all of a sudden, Pittsburgh’s primary weakness outside of that pesky quarterback thing becomes a serious strength.

Last season, Fautanu allowed two sacks and 23 total pressures for a Washington passing game in which Michael Penix Jr. attempted 117 passes of 20 or more air yards. So, we’re pretty sure he can hold his position for a long time at any level. And he’s got some interesting tricks up his sleeve.

I didn’t get to McCormick’s tape until I was at the Indianapolis airport about to fly home from the scouting combine, but he stood out right away when I did. Ignore the small-school bias — this guy is a wrecking machine inline and as a puller.

As for Frazier, this guy is pure nasty on the field, and his determination showed up at West Virginia with his ability to play through injuries, as well as an on-field demeanor that might give even NFL defenders pause after he rounds out the technical aspects of his position.

“Sometimes in the draft, a lot of great players and, selfishly, certainly things break your way, and they feel like that, last night, and today or tonight,” Smith said after the Steelers had taken Fautanu and Frazier, and before they selected McCormick. “But I’m just really excited to get a chance to work with both of them. And, you know, even Broderick [Jones], still early in his career as well. There’s a lot of guys, Isaac [Seumalo], all these linemen. I’m really fired up to get a chance to work with them.”

Once again, the excitement is palpable — and certainly understandable.

Steelers select G Mason McCormick in fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft

The Steelers have now selectred three offensive linemen in the 2024 NFL draft.

Sometimes a player is just too good to pass up. Despite drafting offensive tackle Troy Fautanu in the first round and center Zach Frazier in the second round, Pittsburgh went back to the offensive line in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft to land former South Carolina State guard Mason McCormick.

McCormick put his name on the draft radar of all 32 teams when he dominated the NFL scouting combine. He was rated the second-most athletic guard at the combine.

We viewed McCormick as a top Steelers prospect based on his ability to move to center but with Zach Frazier int he fold already, McCormick can focus strictly on playing guard.

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Steelers bring in sleeper guard prospect for pre-draft visit

The Steelers had Mason McCormick in for a pre-draft visit.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are taking every opportunity to scout out prospects for the 2024 NFL draft. The draft starts in just 10 days but the Steelers front office keeps working, bringing in pre-draft visitors.

On Monday, the Steelers brought in Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu along with South Dakota State guard Mason McCormick. Everyone knows about Fautanu and what his scouting report says but McCormormick is a lesser-known prospect who is rising quickly up draft boards.

McCormick opened up plenty of eyes when he showed off his athleticism at the scouting combine. Here are McCormick’s numbers in perspective and what isn’t included is he did 32 reps on bench at his pro day. According to Kent Lee Platte, who invented the RAS system, this is the 7th-best performance by any guard going all the way back to 1987.

 

A workout like this will send teams running to his film where they will see a guy who dominated at a lower level with his power. Honestly, the athleticism he showed at the combine didn’t show up much in games so the Steelers or any team considering him have to keep that in mind.

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Biggest winners from the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine

Biggest winners from the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine from Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon after a long week in Indianapolis

Four days of on-field workouts in Indianapolis concluded on Sunday with the offensive linemen taking the stage at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

Over 300 prospects participated in the interviews, medical examinations, on-field testing and more during the week. Scores of those players performed very well and augmented their appeal to the NFL decision-makers. But a few separated themselves at the top of the most impressive combine performers.

Here are the biggest winners from the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

5 takeaways from Day 4 of the NFL Combine

Takeaways from the final day of the NFL Scouting Combine.

The NFL Scouting Combine concluded with the offensive linemen taking the field in Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.

The importance of the combine is more for the medicals and team interviews but the testing does help confirm what you see on tape or it may force you to go back to take a look because a prospect performed better than expected or fell short of expectations.

The Indianapolis Colts have their starting five offensive linemen but can use depth across the board and keep an eye on center prospects with Ryan Kelly entering the final year of his contract.

Here, we are looking at the five biggest takeaways from Day 4 of the NFL combine. You can check out our takeaways from the previous days below: