The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t currently in the best spot at center, with Nate Herbig the team’s starting center as things stand right now. With less than a week until the 2024 NFL Draft, it’s widely projected that the Steelers will target a center in the early rounds, but if that doesn’t work out, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly thinks the team could work something out with former Miami Dolphins C Connor Williams later in the summer. Williams is coming off a torn ACL, and Kaboly said on The PM Team on 93.7 The Fan today that the team could sign the sixth-year veteran later in the summer if they aren’t comfortable at the position.
“I think right now would do no good because he’s not gonna be able to practice. Let’s see what maybe Herbig can do, I don’t think they’ll move James Daniels there, he was too much of a solid guy at right guard and he’s in a contract year, I wouldn’t want to move right there,” Kaboly said. “Maybe throw Spencer Anderson in there and those guys or whoever, if they bring somebody else in, a mid-to-low level guy and see if they can succeed. If it’s an obvious no, then you have that backup plan to maybe bring in Connor Williams.”
It doesn’t sound as if bringing Williams in would be Plan A or even Plan B at this point, as his medicals still need to be evaluated, but if the draft shakes out in a way where the Steelers can’t land a top-tier center, it might be an avenue for the team to explore if some of its internal options don’t work out. Herbig has minimal center experience, playing just 53 reps at the position in his NFL career, and Daniels isn’t going to move to center in a contract year. That doesn’t leave a ton of internal options for the team, and going outside the organization to sign someone like Williams could end up making the most sense.
The Steelers signed LB Kwon Alexander during training camp last season to help shore up the inside linebacker room, and they could wind up doing a similar thing with Williams or another option at the center position. I think the hope is that the Steelers will land a starting-caliber center in the draft, but if the board doesn’t shake out in a favorable way and that doesn’t happen, Williams is a solid option later in the summer.
