In 1st season as the literal center of the Steelers’ offense, Mason Cole earns respect

He’s the oldest starter on what is one of the youngest offenses in the NFL. Although Mason Cole doesn’t carry an official captaincy title for the Pittsburgh Steelers, in his first season with team, Cole is making his mark as one of the unit’s leaders.

“Mason Cole is a hub of communication of the offensive line,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said this week. “He’s displayed consistent leadership.”

The 26-year-old Cole is on his third NFL team in his fifth pro season. He’s also the Steelers’ third starting center in three years, the organization’s latest attempt to replace decade-long starter and since-retired Maurkice Pouncey.

When Cole was signed to a three-year contract worth up to $15.75 million in March, some speculated what position he would even play. But he has been the first-team center since the first day of organized team activities through the entire first half of the season, missing only five regular-season offensive snaps despite a foot balky enough he was in a walking boot for several days earlier this season.

“He’s been steady Eddie,” Tomlin said, “not only in performance but in presence, in communication. He’s a quality veteran football player.”

Pro Football Focus grades Cole almost exactly in the middle of the league’s starting centers (16th). That might not sound like much, but PFF graded the Steelers’ Kendrick Green as the league’s third-worst starting center last year. And in Pouncey’s last season — 2020 — he was graded as the NFL’s fifth-worst center.

Cole also has the ear of his younger peers on the Steelers’ offensive line, and his voice, by all indications, carries weight in the locker room at large. Cole often has served as a voice for the Steelers’ struggling offense in speaking to the media.

“He’s been a guy from Day 1 that’s come in (and been) certainly a student of the game, a real positive person, works really hard,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. “He’s here at 6:30 every morning working on what he can do and what he’s going to see. He certainly leads the guys up front as far as with the calls and those things, as a lot of centers do. Big fan of his, and he does all he can to do his job first and then try to help everybody else with theirs by making sure they’re all on the same page.”

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