So far in the pre-draft process, some of the names that have been connected consistently from the national media’s perspective to the Pittsburgh Steelers are all the same.
Georgia OT Amarius Mims, Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson, West Virginia center Zach Frazier, and Alabama OT JC Latham, at least in the first round.
Notice a trend?
You should, as they are all offensive linemen and would answer a major position group in question for the Black and Gold.
It’s not just the national media connecting those players to the Steelers, either. According to Pro Football Focus, its mock draft simulator shows a couple of interesting trends regarding some prospects and the Steelers.
According to PFF, one of the most common player and team pairings in mock draft simulators outside of the top five and quarterbacks happens to be Powers-Johnson and the Steelers, which is rather eye-opening.
But if the Steelers aren’t paired with Powers-Johnson in the first round, there is one other common player pairing with the Steelers in the mock draft simulator: Georgia center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger on Day 2.
“It’s no surprise that people drafting for the Pittsburgh Steelers go for the Oregon center in the first round. That pick is actually the second-most common pick outside the top five selections,” PFF’s Gordon McGuinness writes regarding Powers-Johnson and the Steelers in the simulator. “When drafters don’t get Powers-Johnson in Round 1, they tend to select either West Virginia’s Zach Frazier in Round 2 or Georgia‘s Sedrick Van Pran in Round 2 or 3.
“Last season, Van Pran earned a 75.4 run-blocking grade on zone runs and an 81.5 pass-blocking grade. He allowed 13 total pressures from 485 pass-blocking snaps.”
It’s quite clear that the Steelers have a major need at the center position, especially after cutting veteran Mason Cole in late February. They got rid of a guy who started all 34 games and one playoff game the last two seasons in Pittsburgh and played all but 45 snaps in his Steelers.
Though Cole struggled to snap the football at times last season, he was an experienced, affordable option. But the Steelers decided to move on. Unfortunately, they haven’t found an answer at the position just yet.
GM Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin have talked extensively about veteran Nate Herbig being an option at center for the Steelers, but he’s played just 49 career snaps at center in the NFL. That’s not exactly comforting.
At this point in the offseason, the Steelers are either going to go dumpster diving at the position or they’ll look in the trade market. But the best bet is through the draft.
Powers-Johnson is the popular player connected to the Steelers. They’ve done quite a bit of work on him from meeting with him at the Senior Bowl to sending OL coach Pat Meyer to his Pro Day at Oregon. But if he isn’t the pick in the first round, the Steelers still have options, including Van Pran-Granger, who can be had on Day 2, likely in the third round.
Things might look a bit bleak at center right now, but help could be on the way in a major way through the 2024 NFL Draft.
