While the 2024 Senior Bowl will still prove vitally important to the Pittsburgh Steelers, they’ve lost out on the chance of watching one of the draft’s top centers. Though no fault of their own, top prospect Georgia center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger has pulled out of this year’s Senior Bowl and won’t compete this week in Mobile.
He was one of several prospects no longer listed on the updated Senior Bowl roster ahead of Tuesday’s practice.
Pittsburgh had the added benefit of Assistant OL Coach Isaac Williams coaching the American side offensive line, which included Van Pran-Granger. Now, they won’t get that chance.
The Steelers should be in the market for a long-term center option after Mason Cole regressed from his first year with the team. Entering the final year of his contract, Pittsburgh has struggled to find a strong starter to replace Maurkice Pouncey. Selecting Kendrick Green went up in flames while Cole hasn’t attained top-level status and struggled with snaps and pass blocking in 2023. Pittsburgh has a rich history of having great centers and they sure could use another.
While Van Pran is one of the better centers in this year’s class, he’s perhaps not held in quite as high regards by the NFL. Brugler said teams are putting a third to fifth round grade on him, tweeting the media is too high on his game and he’s only a starter in the right situation.
In his scouting report, our Jonathan Heirtitter concluded:
“Sedrick Van Pran is an athletic, experienced center who will excel in gap and zone-blocking schemes thanks to his mobility and aggressiveness as a run blocker. He has balance and core strength issues he needs to work on to be more sound as a pass protector, but he has shown to be capable protecting the quarterback as he has only one sack and one quarterback hit allowed in his college career. Despite his extensive starting experience, is still only 22 years old, suggesting that his game can take another step forward as he transitions to the league should he work on these tendencies while maximizing his strengths as a run blocker.”
And came away with a low second round grade. If Van Pran-Granger isn’t the Steelers’ choice, other notable center prospects include Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson and West Virginia’s Zach Frazier. Both will participate in the Senior Bowl with Frazier being coached by Williams on the American side. From our scouting report, he is a solid fit.
