Butte native, ex-Montana Griz lineman Dylan Cook still pinching himself after two years in NFL (2024)

BUTTE— At each Pittsburgh Steelers home game, “Renegade” by Styx blasts over the loud speakers, creating a palpable electricity in a stadium packed to the brim with over 68,000 fans.

It’s in that moment when Dylan Cook typically has to pinch himself.

“Every time they play it, I just stand there and watch," Cook told 406 MT Sports and the Montana Standard. "I just look at the stadium and think, I used to pray for times like that and now we’re a part of it, we’re in it.”

Cook, a Butte native and former Montana Grizzlies offensive lineman, is entering his third season in the NFL and can still hardly believe it.

He spent his rookie season on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad after going undrafted, then signed with Pittsburgh and made the active 53-man roster. Cook has yet to make his debut, but he signed another one-year deal with the Steelers in February.

Considering the long road to get to this point, Cook has made sure to enjoy every minute.

The former Butte High quarterback broke his collarbone in the first game of his senior season in 2015. He played at MSU-Northern and continued to pursue his dreams as a quarterback.

After two years in Havre, it was time for a change.

Cook walked on at Montana, transitioned to offensive line and the rest is history. He eventually started 23 games for the Griz at right tackle and earned a scholarship.

About seven years since suiting up at the NAIA level, Cook now shares a locker room with teammates hailing from the SEC and Big Ten. The unconventional journey has given him a unique perspective as he navigates professional football.

“I’ve got this little saying I always tell myself whenever things do get difficult: ‘I’m not even supposed to be here.’ So, let’s just ball, let’s just forget everything else and go out and give 100%. I tell myself that any time I get nervous or anxious or tired, ‘I’m not even supposed to be here’,” he said.

Entering his third NFL season and second with the same team, Cook feels like he’s come a long way since he started with the Buccaneers. He’s taken the pressure off himself, with the realization of how special the opportunity is.

“The approach is definitely different in the sense that there’s less nerves,” Cook said. “I’ve definitely calmed down throughout the process, and I’ve realized that it is just football at a way higher level. At the end of the day, we’re just playing the game that we all grew up loving and having fun with.”

Cook has lofty expectations for his future and hopes to continue developing at a position that is still relatively new when compared to his peers. He hopes that the work he’s put in this offseason can translate into making his NFL debut at some point.

“Short term, I’d like to make the active roster again and do whatever I can in that sense to help the team win. Long term, I want to be playing. I want to be starting, I don’t want to be the sixth guy or seventh guy, I want to be in the top five,” Cook said.

“Whenever I’m working out or working on technique, I’m really just fine-tuning to get to that stage to where I can play and help whoever it is that I’m playing for win games.”

Cook has spent the past couple weeks back in Butte, continuing his training while enjoying the company of familiar faces.

He’s making an appearance at his old stomping grounds, Naranche Stadium, on Friday for the Uptop Skills Camp, put on by Colt Anderson’s Dream Big Foundation. Anderson had a similar journey to Cook, going from Butte High to a walk-on with the Griz before a nine-year career in the NFL.

“It’s definitely good because that path isn’t seen in Butte or Montana in general. I remember when I first saw Colt in person. I remember that moment very vividly,” Cook said.

Anderson’s success was an inspiration to Cook, and on Friday both of them will look to inspire the next generation in Butte.

From quarterback to offensive lineman and from the NAIA to the NFL, Cook has proven that there are many different routes to get to a destination.