Steelers All 90: Dylan Cook Looking to Stick after Unheard-Of Path to NFL

There are common paths to the NFL, then there are uncommon paths to the NFL, and then there is the route that Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Dylan Cook took to his current locker at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

Cook started out his football journey as a quarterback, playing at his first collegiate stop at that position. Then he quit. Then, he was lured back to the game with an opportunity to play offensive line at an FCS school. He somehow parlayed that opportunity into an NFL shot.

Suffice to say, he’s the only one that’s been down that path.

Cook is a Butte, Montana native, where he played quarterback at Butte High. (They’re the Bulldogs. It’s the school in similarly named Butte County, Idaho that has been made famous for their cleverly naughty Pirates moniker.) Cook followed in the footsteps of his older brother Dallas, who was a quarterback at Butte and won a state title in 2012. Dallas turned that into an college opportunity at Montana State, one of the two FCS-level schools in the state.

As a junior, Dylan Cook looked like he would be following in his brother’s footsteps at the very least, if not exceeding them. He threw for 3,124 yards and 30 touchdowns, setting a school record with seven against Missoula Hellgate.

In 2015, Dylan had aspirations of leading the Bulldogs to another state title like his brother had, and dreamed of climbing up the quarterback food chain to play in the NFL one day. That dream started to unravel in the first quarter of the first game of the season, when he broke his collarbone.

Butte lost its next nine games. Dylan did not get an offer to Montana State to join his brother, or any other FCS school, or even any NCAA school. He signed with NAIA school Montana State Northern, four hours from home up near the Canadian border.

Cook didn’t play much in his two seasons with the Lights (now there’s a clever name). The team was dreadful, going 2-19 over his two seasons. Cook decided to transfer, which really meant that he decided to quit football. There is nowhere to transfer down to from a 2-19 NAIA team.

“We weren’t very good,” Cook said. “We were going like 1-10 both my years there. I wasn’t getting great playing time, so I was like, ‘Why am I here? What am I doing?’

“So I actually left and didn’t plan on playing football anymore. I was ready to just start working and move on.”

That changed when he got a shot-in-the-dark message from the coaching staff at the University of Montana, the other FCS school in the state. They had a spot for him to walk-on. But he would not be playing quarterback. The Grizzlies were looking for an offensive line spot. Cook jumped at the chance, despite never really considering himself as anything other than a quarterback.

“I’ve always been big. In high school I was 6-foot-5, 250,” Cook said. “I’ve always been big, so I guess the thought has always been there, but I never truthfully considered it until I was at home, not doing anything.”

After a redshirt year, Cook got up to 285 pounds and entered 2019 second on the Grizzlies depth chart at right tackle. Four games in, he was starting. It turns out, one of the most unusual transitions in football history doesn’t have to be an awkward one.

“The biggest thing was smaller steps,” he said. “As a quarterback, you’re taking these big steps, trying to cover ground. O-line, you’ve got to be short and sweet. That was honestly my biggest struggle.”

His 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, but Cook returned in 2021, earned a scholarship and became an All-Big Sky selection at tackle. That led to him signing with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent last spring.

Cook played in 73 snaps over three games of Tampa’s 2022 preseason, all at left tackle. He was rated by Pro Football Focus as well above-average pass blocker and a below-average run blocker. Montana runs an up-tempo passing offense, so it makes sense that’s where Cook’s strength will lie, but he sees himself as an all-around player.

“I like to do whatever is asked of me,” he said. “Either way. Coming from college, we were kind of more pass, so I really took pride in run blocking, because we weren’t doing it very often.”

The Steelers are leaning into that pass protection background, working the unsurprisingly athletic Cook at left tackle, where he played behind Dan Moore Jr. and Broderick Jones this spring. Cook was released by the Bucs mid-May, joining the Steelers just before the start of spring football, but quickly got accustomed to his new environment.

“Really, just kind of learning on the fly,” he said. “I got here the day before OTAs. Just getting in the offense and figuring out what I can as we go. I’m a person that I learn with reps. I struggle just looking at something and translating it on the field. So just seeing the vets do it is really just helping me do my job better.”

It takes a unique team to see an NAIA quarterback and think he could be an FCS offensive tackle. It will likely take another unique team to turn that FCS offensive tackle with just two years of experience at the position into an NFL player. But Cook likes what he sees so far from his time in Pittsburgh.

“I absolutely love it,” he said. “Pretty good environment. Great coaching. Great players. Definitely really cool.”

60 • Dylan Cook, Tackle, Montana
6-foot-6, 305 pounds, 25 years old, 1st Season

Acquired: The Steelers signed to a one-year free agent contract Cook on May 18, 2023, three days after he had been released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Career: Cook signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent on May, 1, 2022, just after the 2022 NFL Draft.

Cook played in 73 snaps over three games of Tampa’s 2022 preseason, all at left tackle. He was rated by Pro Football Focus as well above-average pass blocker and a below-average run blocker.

The Buccaneers released Cook after training camp, and he was signed to the team’s practice squad, but did not appear in a game in the 2022 season. He was signed to a reserve/future contract for the 2023 season in January, but released before the start of minicamp.

College: A Butte, Montana native, Cook came out of Butte High School as a quarterback and attended NAIA Montana State-Northern for his first two collegiate seasons, seeing some action in 2017.

In 2018, he made the extremely unusual transition from quarterback to offensive line while transferring up to the FCS level to walk on with the Montana Grizzlies. Cook sat out 2018 due to the transfer, but played in the 13 games, winning a starting job in 2019 and a scholarship.

His 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, but Cook returned in 2021 and became an All-Big Sky selection at tackle. That led to him signing with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent last spring.

Salary cap and future: If he makes the 53-man roster, Cook will count for $750,000 against the Steelers salary cap in 2023, and he would become an exclusive-rights free agent after the season.

The rest of the 90: