Though it comes as little surprise, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Pat Meyer is attending Oregon Ducks Pro Day. The main attraction? Top center prospect Jackson Powers-Johnson.
Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy confirmed the news earlier Tuesday.
Meyer attended Oregon State’s Pro Day Monday to watch top offensive lineman Taliese Fuaga, making it no surprise he made the short trip to the Ducks’ workout today. Powers-Johnson is considered the top center in his class with a good chance to be selected in the first round.
As noted by Mike of footballiance.com, who has been keeping us informed, Meyer and several coaches (including former Steelers’ o-line coach Chris Morgan) put Powers-Johnson through drills.
Pittsburgh has a clear need at center, especially after releasing Mason Cole last month. So far, the Steelers haven’t signed a veteran center in free agency, missing out on the top names of the group. Likely, they’re focused on finding a long-term option in a deep draft class that boasts several options. But Powers-Johnson is arguably the top name and in contention to be the Steelers’ 20th pick.
He enjoyed a solid Senior Bowl practice, though a minor injury only limited him to one day of action. Healthy for the NFL Scouting Combine, he tested well with a 32-inch vertical and 30 reps on the bench press. He also tossed aside Steelers assistant OL coach Isaac Williams in drills, the same thing Broderick Jones did last year before being selected by Pittsburgh.
At this time, it’s not known if Mike Tomlin and/or Omar Khan are in Eugene with Meyer. The fact there’s been no buzz about either attending indicates they didn’t make the trip. That’s a crucial piece of information for our “Blue’s Clues.” Every Steelers first-round pick since 2010 has had Tomlin and/or the general manager personally attend that player’s Pro Day. It’s rare for either to head to the West Coast, though they were there for Stanford’s David DeCastro back in 2012. Could Powers-Johnson be an exception? Potentially, especially given the circumstances of a busy free agency period.
Check out our full scouting report on Jackson Powers-Johnson below.
