For all of the fuss made about Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Dylan Cook playing quarterback in high school, he simply shook his head and smiled when asked if that crossed his mind in his NFL starting debut.
“No, I haven’t been a quarterback since 2017,” Cook said. “I’m an O-lineman now. That’s been my mindset ever since.”
The 6-foot-6, 305-pounder turned that mindset into scoring the third-highest grade by Pro Football Focus of any NFL offensive lineman last week for his play against the Miami Dolphins, when he was the only Steelers offensive lineman to not allow a pressure in pass protection.
“I thought he played really well. I played well when he came in, and I thought he played really well this last week,” Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “He’s a real calm guy in the huddle, and I like his demeanor. We wanted to make sure he felt comfortable, so we gave him some chips early in the game and some slides. But I think he handled his own really well, and I think every rep for him is confidence. I’m really proud of the way Dylan played.”
Only Denver’s Garrett Bolles (90.9) and San Francisco’s Trent Williams (90.3) earned better grades than Cook’s 89.9. Both were first-round draft picks, and Williams is an 11-time Pro Bowl pick and three-time All-Pro who is considered the game’s premier player at his position. Cook was an undrafted free agent from Montana, an FCS power, and has spent time on the practice squad for Tampa Bay and the Steelers.
It was an impressive performance for a fourth-string left tackle protecting the blind side. Cook didn’t make his first NFL start until his fourth season — and only after injuries to Broderick Jones, Andrus Peat and Calvin Anderson forced the Steelers’ hand — yet had the highest grade of any Steelers offensive player.
“He did amazing. You can’t ask for a better job than that,” said Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell, who rushed for 80 yards on 13 carries and had seven catches for 46 yards in the 28-15 win. “Going out there and doing his job, playing hard and he did everything we asked of him.”
Where Mike Tomlin couldn’t “say enough about Dylan and what he was able to do for us at left tackle,” the Steelers coach noted that their blocking scheme was designed to help him.
“He’s another example of a guy upholding the standard,” Tomlin said. “We’ve absorbed some attrition, to say the least, at that position. He was part of a winning effort (Monday night). He’s deserving of congratulations for that.”
Cook credited left guard Isaac Seumalo for pointing out pass rushers and providing a sense of security by keeping his mind sharp and telling him what to expect on certain fronts.
“It definitely slowed down a little bit,” Cook said. “It helped out that I had Isaac next to me, lined me up pretty well. I definitely had the advantage with the snap count being home, so I took advantage of it.”
Steelers left tackle Dylan Cook discusses his first NFL start and whether his days as a quarterback crossed his mind against the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. pic.twitter.com/59bbMZxWg7
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) December 17, 2025
Cook also knows there is room for improvement, especially in the run game. His 69.6 PFF grade was second only to Steelers center Zach Frazier, but Cook believes he can be better with his anchoring by getting lower and with his hand usage with another challenge awaiting in Detroit Lions pass rushers Aidan Hutchinson and Al-Quadin Muhammad, who have combined for 18 ½ sacks this season.
“It was good, but there’s always work to be done, always things to improve on,” Cook said. “I’ll just keep working this week to be better next week.”
Spencer Anderson, who replaced the injured Seumalo at left guard against the Dolphins, was confident that Cook would play at a high level. Cook admitted that working while waiting for his chance got “frustrating” but also had him prepared to play.
“We told him to just be you. Football is football, it’s just a bigger stage,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t like it was some Joe Schmoes or anything; those are big-name guys and he handled his own. He’s got the ability. He’s been here for three years now — just as long as I have — and we’ve seen it. It’s just the whole world hadn’t. I’m glad it came to fruition on Monday.”
NFL analyst Brian Baldinger raved about Cook’s performance in a post on X, praising his footwork in pass protection against Dolphins edge rushers Bradley Chubb and Chop Robinson and especially the way he slid one defender into Seumalo to pick up an outside rusher.
“All I saw was stellar play,” Baldinger said of Cook’s 66 offensive snaps. “There wasn’t one bad snap. … It was one great set after another.”
Baldinger noted that not only did Cook shine against Chubb, a two-time Pro Bowl pick who has 46 career sacks, but didn’t commit any penalties and played a “clean game” by staying off the ground until late in the fourth quarter.
“It’s unbelievable. This kid was a quarterback in Montana in high school, a long snapper, a walk-on at Montana. Here he is, making his first NFL start, ‘Monday Night Football,’” Baldinger said. “They’ve been looking for a left tackle … forever. They drafted one in the first round. This is the cleanest Aaron Rodgers has been protected on the back side all year. And there was a lot of good rushers. … Maybe this is the answer. … Dylan Cook was awesome, spectacular — maybe the future.”
Yet Tomlin stopped short of naming Cook the starter for the remainder of the season with the possibility of Peat returning soon, let alone proclaim Cook the Steelers’ left tackle of the future.
“Yeah, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Tomlin said. “We’ll see what this week holds.”