The offseason has probably not gone exactly as envisioned at the center position for Pittsburgh Steelers GM Omar Khan.
The center market was a bit rich for average players, and things simply weren’t lining up with some of the Steelers’ comforts. Currently, the center market is rather bare, though former Steeler Mason Cole remains a free agent and could be a logical guy to circle back to.
But for now, the Steelers are seemingly focused on the center position in the 2024 NFL Draft — and rightfully so.
Names like Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson, West Virginia’s Zach Frazier, Duke’s Graham Barton, and Georgia’s Sedrick Van Pran-Granger are the popular ones connected to the Steelers, but there is one center being overlooked who could wind up being a Steeler.
According to NFL insider Tony Pauline, the Steelers showed “a lot of attention” to Kingsley Eguakun at Florida’s Pro Day where Steelers football analyst Tosin Kazeem was in attendance.
“Eguakun had a solid day on Thursday. He timed 7.3 seconds in the three cone, 4.4 seconds in the short shuttle, touched 32 inches in the vertical jump and 9-feet in the broad. The mobile center, who measured 6-foot-3.5 inches and 304 pounds at the Combine, looked good in position drills,” Pauline writes. “Eguakun is getting a lot of interest from center-needy teams like the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers.
“It’s conceivable whichever team does not come away with Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson in Round 1 uses a pick Eguakun later in the draft.”
Eguakun is certainly a name to know at this point in the pre-draft cycle. He spent five seasons in Gainesville, starting 30 total games for the Gators while appearing in 44 total during his time in the SEC.
He started 13 games each in 2021 and 2022, but then dealt with an ankle injury for much of the 2023 season, starting just four games total. Despite the limited final season in Florida, Eguakun earned an invite to the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl and then the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.
At the Combine, Eguakun measured in at 6034/304 with 32 1/2-inch arms, 10 1/8-inch hands and 80 1/4-inch wingspan. He also had 26 reps on the bench at the Combine but did not participate in individual testing.
During his time in Florida, Eguakun was stellar off the field, too. He was a four-time SEC Fall Academic Honor member and earned his bachelor’s degree in criminology and his master’s in tourism & hospitality management.
