Steelers Select Big Guard Mason McCormick With Pick #119

It's been an easy draft to follow thus far for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They had very identifiable needs at center, offensive tackle, wide receiver and cornerback. The organization managed to find a plug-and-play starter at offensive tackle with Washington's Troy Fautanu, and at center with West Virginia's Zach Frazier. From there, they added to their wide receiver room with Michigan's Roman Wilson. With many of the top cornerbacks off the board, the Steelers decided to add insurance depth at inside linebacker by selecting Payton Wilson from North Carolina State. 

Technically, cornerback is a bigger need than inside linebacker, but with the health of Cole Holcomb still up in the air, it isn't hard to understand why they selected Wilson. Now at pick #119 in the fourth round, the team has selected guard Mason McCormick.

McCormick has had over 1600 snaps in college at South Dakota State. He has starting "chops" according to ESPN's Draft coverage. With James Daniels potentially leaving as a free agent after the 2024 season the selection of a guard makes perfect sense.

From NFL.com's Draft analysis:

Three-year team captain who brings an incredible amount of starting experience and toughness to the table. McCormick plays with tightness in both his upper and lower half that shows itself when he's forced to make athletic plays. He can be forceful into first contact but doesn't display the flexion needed to redirect his weight quickly or play with leverage at the point of attack. His clear-eyed pass protection will attract offensive line coaches and his NFL Scouting Combine testing should have coaches believing there is still much more to bring out of him as a player.

Steelers Day 2 Draft Recap

Pick #51 / Zach Frazier: Likely the Steelers biggest need was center. Many fans screamed when the team passed on Jackson Powers-Johnson and Frazier during the first round of the draft. But General Manager Omar Khan ultimately had the last laugh by staying put at pick #51 in the second round and still landing Frazier. 

While Powers-Johnson has long been considered the best center in the 2024 NFL Draft, Frazier had been moving up many draft boards as of late. Fox Sports had Frazier listed as the 36th best prospect in their final rankings released last week. 

Pick #84 / Roman Wilson: After trading away Diontae Johnson for cornerback Donte Jackson, the Steelers need for wide receiver help has been well documented. The team signed veterans Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins, but both lack the capabilities to be long-term starters opposite of George Pickens. Roman Wilson has the ability to play on the outside, and on the inside depending on the situation. 

He comes from Michigan where Jim Harbaugh ran a pro-style offense that will help him adjust quickly to Arthur Smith's offense. It's likely a higher profile veteran like Courtland Sutton could still be a target for Khan and company, but the addition of Wilson at least gives them more versatility. 

Pick #98 / Payton Wilson: The big knock on Payton Wilson is injury history. Many draft pundits ranked Wilson in the top 50 or even top 40 prospects available when the draft began. Most of the concern stems from the fact that Wilson is missing an ACL in one of his knees. 

Let's not forget that Steelers great Hines Ward is missing an ACL and he seemed to do just fine in the NFL. Over the past two seasons, Wilson played in 25 games, not missing any due to injury. He's a tackling machine and despite being 6'4", 233 pounds, he ran a 4.43 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine. 

It's important to note that three out of the Steelers first four selections were players they were able to speak to at the Senior Bowl earlier this winter. While Fautanu, Frazier and Payton Wilson all came to Pittsburgh for a Top 30 visit, Roman Wilson did not. But that's because Mike Tomlin was able to speak to Roman at great lengths while he was at the Senior Bowl.

How do you feel about the Steelers 4th round pick? How do you feel about the overall trajectory of the 2024 NFL Draft?