NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah was a busy man on Tuesday as he conducted his annual spring conference call with the media to answer questions about prospects with the pro day circuit now in full swing. While I have already highlighted what Jeremiah said about North Carolina running back Javonte Williams being a perfect fit for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the veteran analyst and former NFL scout also provided the media with an offensive lineman fit for them as well.
“Yeah, interior offensive line wise, it’s not a great group in terms of the high-end guys,” Jeremiah said on Tuesday concerning an offensive lineman fit for the Steelers in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. “If you wanted to take a little bit of a risk, Landon Dickerson from Alabama. If he didn’t tear his ACL towards the end of the year and didn’t have some other injury concerns during his time at Florida State, I think he’d be — he almost is a perfect Steeler. He is physical and nasty. He’s fun to watch. He’s quick. He’s a taller guy. He’s 6’6″, 326 pounds, but we’ve seen the Steelers coming off a pretty good run here with a tall center, so he’d be a great fit provided he could be okay with the medical stuff.”
If you have read this site all offseason, you’ve already seen a few mock drafts linking Alabama center Landon Dickerson to the Steelers. Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN even mocked him to the Steelers at 24 overall in the first-round in one of his offerings so far this offseason.
Dickerson, who did not play in this year’s Senior Bowl due to a late-season serious knee injury that required surgery, did measure in at 6060, 326-pounds in Mobile, AL. with 32 1/2-inch arms and 10 3/8-inch hands. He was the 2020 winner of the Rimington Trophy, which is presented annually to the nation’s top center and a semifinalist for the Outland Trophy. He was also a unanimous first team All-American in 2020 and earned first-team All-SEC honors from both the Associated Press and league coaches.
While Dickerson primarily played center the last three seasons at Alabama and Florida State, he did log snaps at all five positions on the offensive line during that span with his second most amount of playing time coming at right guard.
Alex Kozora has already done a profile on Dickerson for the site as well and you can read it by following the link below. As Jeremiah essentially said on Tuesday, if not for Dickerson’s knee injury and previous injury history, he’d probably be a slam-dunk first-round selection for some team, or at worst, the first center selected this year. Those medical concerns are pretty big, however, and especially this year thanks to the scouting issues created by the ongoing pandemic.
Could Dickerson ultimately fall to the Steelers in the second-round? I suppose that’s not totally out of the question. We’ll see.
The Steelers are almost sure to select a center at some point during the 2021 NFL Draft with veteran center Maurkice Pouncey retiring this offseason. Currently, the Steelers only have one true center under contract and that’s former undrafted free agent J.C. Hassenauer, who had to play quite a few meaningful snaps during the 2020 season. Hassenauer, however, is certainly not a bonafide starter.
