Entering Day Two of the 2024 NFL Draft, the center position was a key area of need for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, with Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson off the board to the Las Vegas Raiders with No. 44 overall pick in the second round, that need for the Steelers is even greater.
Throughout the pre-draft process, Powers-Johnson was a popular name connected to the Steelers due to position of need and overall play style.
That buzz really started to generate during the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, where the Steelers met with Powers-Johnson. Though Pittsburgh then didn’t meet with him at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, the interest remained.
Steelers’ offensive line coach Pat Meyer made his way to Eugene, Oregon for the Ducks’ Pro Day, where he put Powers-Johnson through position drills. The Steelers then hosted the Oregon standout for a pre-draft visit in Pittsburgh, checking off some key boxes when it comes to interest in the player.
But that interest in Powers-Johnson doesn’t pay off as he is now a Raider in the second round.
After seeing Duke’s Graham Barton go in the first round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and now Powers-Johnson to the Raiders on Day Two, the need is heightened at the center position for the Steelers.
Pittsburgh created the major need at the center position after cutting Mason Cole in late February after two seasons as a starter, in which he missed less than 50 snaps during that tenure. After cutting Cole, the Steelers don’t have a true center on the roster, outside of Ryan McCollum, who is a practice squad player.
Names like guard Nate Herbig and tackle Spencer Anderson have been kicked around as possible options at the center position, but Herbig has just 49 career snaps at center, and Anderson has just five games in college at the center position. GM Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin have stated throughout the offseason that they are comfortable with a guy like Herbig at center if need be, but that certainly isn’t comforting. Now, the high-end options at the position are coming off the board ahead of the Steelers.
The fit for Powers-Johnson in Las Vegas is a bit curious, considering the Raiders re-signed center Andre James this offseason on a three-year, $24 million deal. The Raiders announced Powers-Johnson as a guard with the pick, meaning he’ll slide outside, but he has the one year of starting experience at center in college.
