With the first few days of free agency out of the way, the Pittsburgh Steelers have done well to fill some positions of need with their additions so far. Inside linebacker and punter were two positions that could have been addressed in the draft that no longer need to be. And while quarterback wasn’t likely to be looked at in the early rounds of the draft, the team upgraded the position for the 2024 season with the addition of Russell Wilson. The biggest glaring need on the roster that remains is center, and NFL analyst Brian Baldinger thinks the Steelers should target the top player at the position in the draft in Oregon C Jackson Power-Johnson.
“They began to rebuild the offensive line a year ago,” Baldinger said in a video posted on NFL.com. “They just released Mason Cole, who started 35-straight games at center for them. Looks like there’s a hole there. Maybe this is a place for Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon to come in with the 20th pick to really solidify the line, get the running game cranked up, and really go compete for that AFC North title.”
The Steelers have been pretty consistently linked to Powers-Johnson since his standout performance at the Senior Bowl at the end of January. Free agency has done nothing to change the Steelers’ circumstances at the position, which further reinforces the idea that they will be targeting a center with their top pick. At the very worst, the Steelers must leave the first two rounds with their center of the future.
Ever since Maurkice Pouncey’s retirement following the 2020 season, the Steelers have had subpar play out of the position. The offensive line is one or two pieces away from completing the rebuild and Powers-Johnson has a good chance of being able to provide that.
“I think Jackson Powers-Johnson could be a guy right there that the Steelers would covet with the 20th pick,” Baldinger said. “They tend to draft a lot of Hall of Fame centers.”
Interior offensive linemen don’t bring with them the value in the first round that other positions do in the draft, so there normally aren’t that many centers taken on Day 1, if at all. In this circumstance Powers-Johnson has seemed to solidify himself as a Day-1 pick and there is no doubt about the need. The Steelers tried to sign a bridge player in Mitch Morse at the start of free agency, but he ultimately chose the Jacksonville Jaguars.
There are also solid arguments that can now be made about exploring a different position of need at wide receiver. By trading away Diontae Johnson, the Steelers created a more urgent need at the position. WR George Pickens will be the WR1. That leaves Calvin Austin III as the next best option, and he only has 17 career receptions for 180 yards.
The Steelers met with many of the top receivers at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, so that could be in play at the 20th overall selection. On the other hand, Steelers OL coach Pat Meyer attended Oregon’s Pro Day getting a close up look at Powers-Johnson.
