The only true, glaring hole the Pittsburgh Steelers have in the starting lineup is at center. Even at wide receiver, they have some players who have experience playing, like Van Jefferson. Yet many question the value of drafting a center in the first round, particularly as high as 20. That’s the decision the Steelers are facing, but The Athletic draft expert Nick Baumgardner makes the argument for that move.
“If Pittsburgh decides [Jackson] Powers-Johnson is ready to start right now and can be the franchise’s center of the future, then it should take him at “, he told Mike DeFabo. He even acknowledged that 20 may not make sense in this particular class, but it could for the Steelers specifically.
“If Pittsburgh is serious about rebuilding its offense through a downhill run game, then it won’t just need any center — it’ll need a good one”, he wrote. “For most teams, I’d argue tackle needs to be the priority this year, as the class is that good. But for a team like Pittsburgh, I’d rather develop the right tackle spot if it means I’m for sure getting my guy at center”.
That “guy” is overwhelmingly likely to be the aforementioned Powers-Johnson, even if 20 is high to take him. The Steelers could theoretically trade back, but they haven’t done that since 2001. Then again, general manager Omar Khan is only navigating his second draft, so we don’t know his tendencies. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t have enough experience on the job to have tendencies yet.
Even after adding Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, most still expect the Steelers to focus on the ground game. That’s been new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s modus operandi in most years at his previous stops. And the reality is that their strengths currently lean toward the run game. Baumgardner argues a quality center is essential for that type of running as a focus.
“If you look at the top run-blocking lines last season (San Francisco, Philadelphia, Detroit, Denver), they all had centers that could move people”, he said. “The center is the heartbeat of any run game. If you’re going to be serious about running the football and your strategy is to spend cheaply on a center … you could be in trouble”.
The Steelers have dealt with average to below-average center play for at least a few years. Since Maurkice Pouncey’s retirement, they weathered one year of Kendrick Green and two of Mason Cole. Cole played acceptably well in 2022 but stepped back in a big way last year.
Cole struggled enough in that role that the Steelers felt obliged to cut him earlier this offseason. They did so despite the absence of a clear alternative. They’re mentioning Nate Herbig by name, but he has no meaningful experience playing center. One can easily argue that’s a big piece of evidence pointing toward their intentions at center in the draft. Even if some argue the opposite.
