The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into 2026 with plenty of doubt swirling around them. They’ve got a new head coach, a 42-year-old starting quarterback, and a lot of people around the NFL don’t view them as a real threat.
That’s not how it feels inside the locker room. The Steelers believe they can surprise people, and as the defending AFC North champions, they’re no strangers to being underestimated.
One of the biggest reasons for that belief is buried in the middle of the offensive line, where Mason McCormick keeps doing the kind of work that doesn’t always grab headlines. He’s entering his third NFL season and has already made 31 starts, which is a lot of experience for a player still being talked about as an unsung piece.
With All-Pro names like Zach Frazier and Troy Fautanu drawing most of the attention, McCormick is the swing factor. That’s why he lands at No. 16 on the Steelers’ list of most important players for 2026.
The Steelers’ season may ultimately come down to the offensive line as a whole. If that group clicks, the projection changes fast. It could become a top-five unit in the league, and Aaron Rodgers could look like a vintage version of himself while pushing Pittsburgh toward a real run.
For Rodgers to get there, McCormick has to hold up his end. In 2025, he was one of the better interior pass protectors in football, giving up only four sacks in 17 starts. He also allowed just 25 quarterback pressures, matching or beating the numbers posted by names like Tyler Booker and Quinn Meinerz.
That kind of efficiency is exactly what the Steelers need again in 2026. McCormick has areas he still has to clean up, but his lower-body strength and sticky hands make him a real asset in pass protection. With a new offensive system being installed, Pittsburgh is counting on his game to take another step in year three.
The run game is where the next leap matters most. McCormick has been solid through two seasons, but not yet the kind of blocker who can be called excellent. If he wants to be viewed as one of the top players on the line, he has to sharpen that part of his game now.
There’s reason to think the new offense could help. McCarthy is one of the best offensive minds in the NFL and has had success with a wide range of attacks.
During his time with the Dallas Cowboys, he leaned on the duo run concept, which asks linemen to work together on a specific double-team block. McCormick fits that style well and should likely be the second lineman helping on those plays.
If the Steelers want their offensive line to become the best position group on the roster, McCormick has to be part of that rise. And if he does take that next step, a new contract could be on the table, with Pittsburgh moving that much closer to being a Super Bowl contender.
In Other News...
Why Steelers Fans Suddenly Believe This New Era Could Change Everything
The Steelers are entering a different kind of offseason conversation now that the coaching staff has been reshaped around Mike McCarthy and Patrick Graham. For a fan base that has spent years measuring every move against stability, the appeal is obvious: a fresh voice on the sideline, a new direction on defense, and the sense that the roster could be organized with a more modern, aggressive plan in mind.
Pittsburghs optimism is being fueled by the idea that the changes could pay off on both sides of the ball, with the defense expected to look sharper under Graham and the offense drawing plenty of attention as the pieces come together. The bigger question is whether those changes can actually translate into the kind of leap people around the team are already starting to imagine, because the ceiling being discussed now is far higher than what Steelers fans have been used to hearing. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Clark Unleashed On ESPN After Stunning Exit
Ryan Clarks exit from ESPN landed with extra force in Pittsburgh, where he remains one of the more recognizable former Steelers voices in national media. The longtime analyst had spent more than a decade at the network and was a regular on NFL programming, so his departure was notable even before he started talking publicly about how it happened.
Clark has since pushed back on the way the move was described, saying on his podcast that he was fired and suggesting there was more going on behind the scenes than a standard round of layoffs. For Steelers fans who followed his post-playing career closely, the bigger question now is what comes next for one of the franchises most outspoken alumni in the NFL media space. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Just Got A New Reason To Worry About Joey Porter Jr
The Steelers have another cornerback-market development to keep an eye on as they work through the long-term picture with Joey Porter Jr. Christian Gonzalez is in the same draft class as Porter and has quickly become one of the leagues most promising young cover men, which already made him a useful benchmark for any extension talks involving Pittsburghs own rising defender.
Now the Patriots have put a new layer on that conversation by making Gonzalez a contract offer that could reset the top of the position. For the Steelers, that matters because any new standard at cornerback tends to ripple quickly, and Porters camp will have plenty of reason to watch how this plays out as Pittsburgh continues sorting out its next major homegrown deal. [Read more 🡒]