The Pittsburgh Steelers have already overhauled their quarterback room and bolstered their defense during free agency. One area they haven’t addressed yet is the offensive line. They have a need at center after releasing Mason Cole (and there’s little likelihood of a reunion). Plenty of people would also like to see an upgrade at left tackle from Dan Moore Jr.
Tom Fornelli of CBSSports.com released his newest mock Friday morning and predicted the Steelers would address the offensive line in the first round. He had the team taking OL Graham Barton out of Duke with the 20th overall pick.
“Whether it’s Russell Wilson or Justin Fields at QB, the Steelers need to improve along the offensive line,” Fornelli wrote. “Barton offers positional versatility as he played left tackle at Duke, but many NFL teams see him as an interior lineman who could end up at center. His combination of effectiveness at multiple spots will come in handy in Pittsburgh.”
Barton had 34 starts at left tackle for the Blue Devils with 2,134 snaps. His performance at the position made him a first-team All-ACC player for both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. However, he does have starting experience at center, albeit limited. He started five games for Duke at center with 430 snaps.
The Steelers had a formal meeting with Barton at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Barton discussed how the meeting with head coach Mike Tomlin and the rest of the Steelers group went at his media availability, per Steelers Depot’s Ross McCorkle.
“He asked me several questions just getting to know me and getting to know me as a player and an athlete,” Barton said. “Really enjoyed just getting to meet them and the people in that office.”
Jim Hester scouted Barton for Steelers Depot and came away impressed with what he saw on the tape.
For the Pittsburgh Steelers, I don’t just think that this guy will be on their radar. I think he will be a guy they have firmly in their crosshairs because of his high-end athleticism, power, toughness, effort, and experience playing multiple positions. Sometimes there are guys in the draft who just scream Steeler. To me, Barton is that type of guy. He is more than capable of playing center and his strengths align very well for the position. I think there is still a lot of room for growth for Barton, and some of his pass pro issues could be mitigated with a move to the interior.
For an NFL comparison, I see a lot of similarities to Justin Pugh and Zack Martin coming out of college in Barton’s game. Guys who also struggled with a lack of length playing offensive tackle in college but transitioned very well to playing on the interior in the NFL.
It’s easy to make the connection between Barton and the Steelers. Whether he’s worth the 20th overall pick is another question entirely. In Fornelli’s mock, popular Steelers target C Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon went four spots later to the Dallas Cowboys. Perhaps the Steelers would value Barton and his versatility over Powers-Johnson?
