90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Ryan McCollum, Mason McCormick, Nate Meadors

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 offseason workouts ended in mid-June. Next up is the team’s annual training camp, which begins at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe in late July. Leading up to the Steelers’ training camp, we’ll be doing a series of posts looking at the team’s offseason roster, three players at a time. This Steelers roster preview, which also includes projections for each player, will be sorted alphabetically by last name for easy followability. This series is expected to include more than 90 players this year, as the team will be able to bring 91 total players with them during the offseason due to the team’s international designation being allowed.

The next players we will feature before the Steelers’ 2024 training camp are Ryan McCollum, Mason McCormick and Nate Meadors.

OC Ryan McCollum: Just like the 2022 season, McCollum, who entered the NFL in 2021 with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M, spent the entire 2023 season on the Steelers’ practice squad. He was promoted to the Steelers’ game-day active/inactive roster once during the 2023 regular season, but did not play in that Week 5 game. The Steelers re-signed McCollum to a reserve/futures contract immediately after the 2023 season ended.

To date, McCollum has played 100 NFL snaps at the center position, beginning as a rookie in 2021 as a member of the Detroit Lions. Those NFL snaps came in a total of four games, of which he started only one. While McCollum played a total of 847 snaps at the center position in college, he was essentially only a starter at the center position for one year at Texas A&M.

Outlook: Like last summer, McCollum is expected to compete for a spot as a backup on the offensive line during training camp this summer. He is currently one of the few true centers on the team’s offseason roster, but is ranked behind Nate Herbig for the position.

Like last year during the preseason, we could see again in this year’s exhibition games that McCollum can play both guard positions in addition to the center position.

It helps that McCollum is not new to the Steelers, having spent 2022 and 2023 on the team’s practice squad. That said, based on his numbers and overall ability to play, it is again unlikely that McCollum will make the Steelers’ 53-man roster after training camp and the preseason. Realistically, McCollum could end up back on the Steelers’ practice squad at the start of the 2024 regular season.

OG Mason McCormick: The Steelers selected McCormick in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of South Dakota State, where he played over 3,400 total offensive snaps, most of them at left guard. He played six seasons at South Dakota State. During the pre-draft process, McCormick was measured at 6042 pounds and 309 pounds, with 32 7/8-inch arms and 10-inch hands. His RAS score during the pre-draft process was an impressive 9.96.

For his 2023 season, Pro Football Focus graded McCormick at 87.6 with an impressive run-blocking grade of 90.8. PFF listed McCormick as a player who has not allowed a sack in 2023 and only three in his entire college career. On tape, McCormick showed himself to be a very physical player and one who can effectively execute skip pulls.

Outlook: A fourth-round pick this year, McCormick was projected to make the Steelers’ 53-man roster as a rookie and likely a backup interior swing guard. Although McCormick played right guard and a bit of center in college, his primary position was left guard. However, he could play both guard positions in training camp and the preseason.

McCormick could very well be used right out of the gate in 2024, especially with the team only having nine offensive linemen on its 53-man roster. The Steelers still have OL Nate Herbig, and he will likely be the team’s best swing interior offensive lineman by the start of the 2024 regular season, especially since he has experience at the center position.

Although McCormick may not see much action as a rookie, the stage is set for him to become a starter starting in 2025. However, injuries could force him to play as a spot starter in the 2024 season.

S Nate Meadors: After spending the latter part of the 2023 season on the Steelers’ practice squad, Meadors, who originally came to the NFL as an undrafted free agent from UCLA to the Minnesota Vikings in 2019, signed a reserve/futures contract with Pittsburgh in early February. Prior to arriving in Pittsburgh, Meadors had spent time with several different teams, but primarily as a practice squad or offseason player.

So far, Meadors has played in three NFL games and has played a total of 11 defensive snaps, with 37 more on special teams. His last NFL game appearance was in 2020 with the Vikings. In this limited NFL action, he has a total of two tackles to his name.

During his college career, Meadors played very little as a safety, as he primarily played as a cornerback on both the outside and in the slot.

Outlook: Since Meadors is officially listed as a safety and has also played free safety in the preseason over the past few years, that’s the position he’ll likely play with the Steelers this summer. However, it will be worth watching his exact position in training camp, especially since he gained some experience as a slot cornerback at UCLA.

Regardless of the position Meadors plays once training camp begins in a few weeks, it’s unlikely he’ll stay in Pittsburgh after the preseason ends. Realistically, and assuming Meadors can stay on the offseason roster throughout the summer, his best chance of remaining with the team at the start of the 2024 regular season is as a practice squad player, especially since he was a member of that unit late last season.

Previous posts in this series:

90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Montravius ​​Adams, Kyle Allen, Spencer Anderson
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Grayland Arnold, Calvin Austin III, Anthony Averett
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Kalon Barnes, Tyler Beach, Keeanu Benton
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Beanie Bishop Jr., Chris Boswell, Marquez Callaway
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Jack Colletto, Dylan Cook, Jacob Copeland
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – James Daniels, Daijun Edwards, DeShon Elliott
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Jalen Elliott, Troy Fautanu, Breiden Fehoko
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Justin Fields, Joey Fisher, Dez Fitzpatrick
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Minkah Fitzpatrick, Zach Frazier, Pat Freiermuth
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Thomas Graham Jr., Devery Hamilton, Anderson Hardy
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Najee Harris, Nate Herbig, Nick Herbig
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Cameron Heyward, Connor Heyward, Alex Highsmith
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Cole Holcomb, Donte Jackson, Van Jefferson
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Jaray Jenkins, Kyron Johnson, Cameron Johnston
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Broderick Jones, Damontae Kazee, Miles Killebrew
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Christian Kuntz, DeMarvin Leal, Logan Lee
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Isaiahh Loudermilk, Dean Lowry, Jonathan Marshall