The 2024 NFL Draft is fast approaching, and the Pittsburgh Steelers will be looking for a few good men to anchor some positions moving forward and push the team toward being a championship-caliber one. When they do, they might look to the Pacific Northwest and the Oregon Ducks to find them.
Oregon held its Pro Day Tuesday, and the Steelers were front and center, getting a good look at some of the men who could potentially fill some critical spots for the Black and Gold. Offensive line coach Pat Meyer was on the scene, and it’s no mystery why he was there.
One of the Steelers’ most glaring needs is at center and the Ducks just happen to have the draft’s top pivot prospect in Jackson Powers-Johnson.
Checking in at 6-3, 328 pounds, he just looks the part. You could see him anchoring a line for the next decade. He has all the tools to be great, and that means the brains to go with the brawn.
“This guy’s played multiple positions for us here,” Ducks coach Dan Lanning told ESPN’s Field Yates Tuesday during a live interview from Oregon Pro Day. “Even when I first got here, he actually played on the defensive side of the ball a little bit so the ability to move from guard to center, the communication, the intelligence really shows out. He’s a good one.”
As a center, you’re responsible for reading defenses and calling out blocking assignments to the rest of the line. Having the football smarts as a center is a big part of the job.
Powers-Johnson checks all the boxes, and he sure would look good in a Steelers uniform. The interview below, via GoDucks YouTube page, only confirms that. And not just because Powers-Johnson said of the pre-draft process, “Meeting Mike Tomlin, that was really cool.”
He is funny, engaging, confident, and comfortable in his own skin. He is a Chief Award waiting to happen.
One other Duck who happens to play a position of need is wide receiver Troy Franklin. He’s a player who would be intriguing in Round 2. Especially after the Steelers reportedly traded Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers.
Franklin has good size and speed. At the NFL Scouting Combine, he measured 6-2 and clocked an impressive 4.41 40-yard dash time. That size and speed is an enticing combo.
The Steelers have been pretty darn good at drafting receivers, and Franklin checks all the boxes you’d like to see in a wideout.
“You see it show up on gameday with Troy, but it shows up every single day in practice with the way he works, the way he operates without the ball,” Lanning told Yates. “This guy’s willing to block and do anything for his teammates, and when you need a big catch, he’s going to make it.”
A speedster who is unselfish and isn’t afraid to do the little things, the “dirty work?” That sounds like a guy the Steelers could use in their wide receiver room and someone who could add another dimension to a Russell Wilson-led offense.
When the Steelers are on the clock, fans would be rightfully elated if one of these Oregon standouts has his name called. They wouldn’t be the first Duck that Pittsburgh has embraced. Right, Mr. Hodges?
