The Pittsburgh Steelers are in need of both a tackle and a center in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft. One prospect has the potential to play both, and at a high level. That is Duke OL Graham Barton. In 2020, his first year at Duke, he played center but moved to left tackle for his final three seasons. In college, teams often put their best offensive linemen at left tackle with it being the most valuable position along the line.
The Duke Pro Day is happening today, and Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is on site to scout the draft eligibles working out, per a report from Mike Kaye on X.
“Former Falcons HC and current Steelers OC Arthur Smith is at Duke’s pro day. Graham Barton just ran a 40 that excited a lot of folks on the Duke sideline,” Kaye wrote.
Barton has been unable to participate in much of the pre-draft process due to an injury suffered in 2023 that he was still rehabbing. He accepted his invite to appear at the Senior Bowl, where Director Jim Nagy stated he would be playing a lot of center, but he did not end up showing up due to the injury. He was present at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine but again did not participate in any of the drills.
He measured in at 6053, 313 pounds, with 32 7/8-inch arms. His arms might be a hair short of ideal, but he has plenty of size to continue at tackle. At the Combine, he stated that different teams view him at different positions, but he believes he is able to play any position on the field.
Here is a clip of him running the short shuttle, posted by Alex Zietlow on X.
“I could fit into a lot of offensive lines in the NFL,” Barton said in Indianapolis. “I play with my feet well. I’ve got fast feet, and so I think that transitions well for me to many offensive lines.”
I asked him if the process of snapping the football, which he hasn’t done much of since 2020, would come back to him quickly if he was asked to play center at the next level.
“Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s like riding a bike,” Barton said. “It’s a learned skill, and once you have that skill, it’s something you carry on. Definitely gonna continue to work on that and be ready to go at any position.”
It looks like NFL teams are mostly viewing him as a center because he is working primarily at that position at his pro day, per a post by Jordan Reid on X.
The Steelers have shown some interest in him throughout the process with a formal meeting at the Combine. Smith’s presence at his pro day is a good indication that the interest is still there.
Other interesting prospects at Duke include DT DeWayne Carter, who had a nice performance at the Senior Bowl.
