The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t ordinarily like to go into the draft with glaring holes, but they certainly have one at center this year, and Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes they’ve narrowed their attention to three options: Jackson Powers-Johnson, Zach Frazier, and Graham Barton.
It seems incredibly unlikely that the Steelers leave the second day of the draft without a new center. Exactly when and where they draft one is decidedly less clear, though apparently they prefer to wait until Day 2.
Asked in a recent chat session about which centers best fit the Steelers, Dulac offered the following: “I think there are only three on their radar — Powers-Johnson, Frazier and Barton”. All three are names that we’ve discussed quite a bit, with Powers-Johnson a first-round option.
At this point I’m in agreement that the Steelers are most likely to address right tackle in the first round. If they do not, however, then there’s a very good chance Powers-Johnson out of Oregon is the reason.
Frazier is also a possibility in the first round, particularly given the odds of him reaching their second-round selection. I see him as a player likely to fall in that 30-40 range, the end of the first round to the top of the second. Needless to say, at 20 and 51, the Steelers are not primed to maximize their value with him.
As for Barton, he’s an interesting case. He has played left tackle for the past three seasons for Duke, but he played center as a freshman. He has the size and skill set to play anywhere along the offensive line for the Steelers.
Many believe his best NFL position is center, even if he doesn’t have an extensive history playing there. He only played center as a freshman due to injuries on the team at the time, but he profiles well. Indeed, he has an elite Relative Athletic Score compared to other centers.
Barton is another player they likely need to draft earlier than their native second-round pick at 51. He could even be off the board by 20, their first-round selection. It really all depends on how teams view him and what they view him doing for them.
Though most of his college experience is at tackle, many project him to kick inside due to a lack of length. His arm length is better suited to playing in the booth. That doesn’t mean we should compare his situation to Kendrick Green, however. The Steelers drafted Green to play center in spite of limited playing time there, and, well, things fell apart.
The good thing about taking Barton is that he’s good enough to salvage even if he doesn’t work at center. I have no doubt he can make a career as a starting guard, and perhaps even tackle. He may not have the longest arms in the world, but he has almost anything else you’d want. Whether he lands with the Pittsburgh Steelers or elsewhere, he’ll have a long career.
