When it comes to some of the best teams in the NFL, they are well-built up the middle on both sides of the football. The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to have pieces in place at some of those positions, but they are still lacking at center.
It’s a position that former Steelers defensive lineman Chris Hoke — who knows a thing or two about the importance of strong play up the middle — wants the franchise to address in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Appearing on the 93.7 The Fan Joe Show with Joe Starkey, Bob Pompeani, and Donny Chedrick Tuesday morning, Hoke stated he wants Pittsburgh to focus on being strong and stout up the middle. Of course, Hoke’s comments came before the Patrick Queen news for the Steelers, but his point about focusing on center still stands.
“I think, for me, it would be either a top-notch inside linebacker or an offensive lineman at the center. You’ve gotta be strong and stout at the center of your offense and the center of your defense. And if you’re soft up the middle, it’s very difficult to be effective,” Hoke said regarding which area he would like the Steelers to focus on in the first round of the draft, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “Mason Cole, I mean, he struggled at times last year with snaps, with picking up protection, getting on blocks. It wasn’t like that the whole time he was here, but last year he struggled. …And so, I would say the center position is a high priority and also a middle linebacker, a guy that can come in here and be a fixture for many years to come.”
Queen should be that fixture for the Steelers at the inside linebacker position for the foreseeable future, which is great news for Pittsburgh.
That might take them out of the inside linebacker market early in the 2024 NFL Draft, particularly with names like Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper and Clemson’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
But as of late Tuesday, the Steelers still don’t have an answer at center.
GM Omar Khan stated that Nate Herbig can play center, which he can. But he has just 49 career snaps at center in the NFL. That’s not something you want to be banking on. Many of the logical centers in free agency have come off the board, with the Steelers largely missing out.
So that leaves the draft.
Names like Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson, West Virginia’s Zach Frazier, and even Duke’s Graham Barton are potential fits for the Steelers at center in the first round. Right now, it’s looking like the biggest need and a position the team must address on Day One of the 2024 NFL Draft. That’s not particularly a position the Steelers want to be in entering the draft, and there is still plenty of time left between now and the draft to add a piece or two at the position, but it’s certainly a need.
Getting better at center should do wonders for the rest of the offensive line, helping it become that strong, stout group that Hoke wants it to be.
