Pittsburgh Steelers center Ryan McCollum will have a massive task on Monday night in trying to block New York Giants All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence. The 6-foot-4, 340-pounder is on a historic pace right now, as he leads the league in sacks with nine. That’s unheard of for a nose tackle.
Lawrence has been double-teamed on 63.3% of his pass rushes this season, the highest rate faced by any player since at least 2018 (min. 100 pass rushes), according to Next Gen Stats.
Lawrence is currently in the running for NFL Defensive Player of the Year with T.J. Watt. Will Anderson Jr. and Chris Jones.
Dexter Lawrence. DPOTY. He has 9 sacks on the season as a nose tackle. Leads the NFL. Unreal talent. pic.twitter.com/hZSUtM7U8u
— Anthony Rivardo (@Anthony_Rivardo) October 20, 2024
The Steelers will have to provide help for McCollum. If they leave him on an island, it’s going to be a long night. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is fully aware of Lawrence’s special skill set.
“Dexter Lawrence is a problem,” Tomlin said during his weekly Tuesday press conference. “He’s a problem in the running game. He’s a problem in the passing game. I think he leads the league in sacks but he’s just a dominant, dominant player.”
Lawrence was a first-round pick by the Giants in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Clemson. He earned second-team All-Pro honors in each of the last two years, but this year his game has reached a new level.
Tomlin reflected on when he took Lawrence and Christian Wilkins out for dinner during the pre-draft process.
“I remember I took those guys out to dinner when he came out of Clemson a number of years back, and I was sitting having conversation with him and Christian Wilkins, and they were sitting on the love seat. And that love seat was really crowded and Christian Wilkins looked really small. And we all know Christian is not small,” Tomlin recalled. “You’re not gonna get a lot done unless you’re prepared to put four hands on [Lawrence]. Guys like Ryan McCollum, who are getting an opportunity to ascend and play, it’s gonna be a significant challenge, but we better do more than wish Ryan McCollum luck.”