We’ll see if the Pittsburgh Steelers feel the same away about Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton as NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah does. On Twitter Tuesday, Jeremiah noted Barton as one of two players whose stocks he’d like to buy just nine days ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.
“2 stocks I’d like to buy a little over a week away from the draft- Graham Barton & Byron Murphy,” Jeremiah tweeted.
Texas DT Byron Murphy is the other name he mentioned.
It’s not clear if Jeremiah is saying that on a personal level, as a fan of Barton’s tape, or an indication of Barton being selected earlier than expected in the draft. As we wrote about yesterday, one sportsbook put Barton’s Over/Under draft slot at 23.5, though the money was betting on him going earlier than that.
Pittsburgh has shown interest in Barton, sending OC Arthur Smith to his Duke Pro Day last month, though there’s been no reported visit yet (Update: Never mind!) The team’s brought in the class’s other top centers, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson and West Virginia’s Zach Frazier (a local visit, technically) but not Barton. They have an obvious need at center, a bigger void there than any other position on the roster and waiting on the position may leave them empty-handed.
Yesterday, Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline reported that those around the NFL believe Barton will be the Steelers’ first round selection. His sources don’t come from Pittsburgh’s building directly but is the strongest reporting of the team’s draft plans thus far.
A college tackle, Barton is projected to play inside at the next level due to a lack of length. He started a handful of games at center for the Blue Devils as a freshman, filling in when injuries struck the o-line, before kicking out to tackle the rest of his career. Barton worked as a center throughout the pre-draft process although a lower body injury hindered him over the last several months, forcing him to sit out of the Senior Bowl where he would’ve gotten recent and valuable reps at the pivot.
If Barton is the Steelers’ selection, he’ll be the first center the team has taken in the first round since Maurkice Pouncey in 2010. It would also mark the first time Pittsburgh’s drafted a first-round offensive lineman in back-to-back drafts in franchise history.
