The Pittsburgh Steelers have a massive hole at center after releasing Mason Cole, and the team has yet to dip their toes into the center market and find a viable replacement. If the season started tomorrow, and thankfully it doesn’t, the Steelers would be rolling with Nate Herbig as their starting center. With the free-agent center market mostly dried up, the Steelers are likely going to need to address the position in the draft. One name that’s been frequently linked to the Steelers is Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson, and ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller named Powers-Johnson to the Steelers as the prospect-team fit he loves in Round One.
“After adding two quarterbacks—Russell Wilson and Justin Fields—over the past few weeks, the Steelers are cleared to address the offensive line in Round 1 for a second year in a row (tackle Broderick Jones at No. 14 in 2023). Powers-Johnson is a powerful people-mover in the middle of the line and would help keep the pocket protected for whichever passer is working under center. He has great agility and balance,” Miller wrote.
The Steelers are likely going to need to address center early, likely within the first two rounds. Pittsburgh is going to likely look for a plug-and-play option in the interior, and Powers-Johnson would give them that. Despite not meeting with the team at the Combine, he did meet with them multiple times at the Senior Bowl. There are some center-needy teams in front of the Steelers, though, but the good news is there are other options beyond Powers-Johnson. Graham Barton, Zach Frazier, and Sedrick Van Pran are all options in the first three rounds, but Powers-Johnson and Barton may be gone by the end of the first, so the Steelers are going to need to act fast.
Miller isn’t the first draft analyst who likes the fit between Powers-Johnson and Pittsburgh, as PFF’s Trevor Sikkema also named him an ideal fit for the Steelers earlier this week. At this point, it’s not a question of whether or not the Steelers take a center. It’s a question of who that player will be.
The only center in free agency Pittsburgh was connected to was Mitch Morse, and he ended up signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars. There isn’t a free-agent center available right now that could really be relied on to come in and start for the entire season, with Cole being one of the better options remaining. So whether it’s Powers-Johnson or Barton or someone else, the Steelers will be taking a center, and Powers-Johnson might be the best of the bunch.
