The Pittsburgh Steelers’ NFL draft centers on center. And while GM Omar Khan acknowledges it’s an area of interest for the team and a strong class overall, the organization isn’t thumbing its nose at the internal options already on the roster ahead of Thursday’s draft. In his annual pre-draft press conference with coach Mike Tomlin, Khan walked through the team’s situation in the middle.
“It’s an important position,” Khan said via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “And I’ve mentioned this before but we have guys on the roster who have flexibility, so we have options there. But there’s some good players at the position. We’ll see where it shakes out.”
This time, Khan didn’t mention specific names, but he has run through the list before. At the front of the line of internal options is veteran Nate Herbig. Though he’s played guard for most of his career, he’s dabbled at center and served as the backup center behind Mason Cole last season. But Cole continued to be a durable lineman, not missing a single snap in 2023 and never pressing Herbig into action.
Though Herbig ostensibly got center reps at practice throughout the season, his summer reps were limited. The team intended on playing him at center but an injury in the first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers caused him to miss the rest of the summer, training camp and the final two preseason games, robbing him and the team of in-stadium reps.
Center is one of the Steelers’ top needs and the team hasn’t been shy about talking to the top people. Duke’s Graham Barton, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson, and West Virginia’s Zach Frazier were all brought in for pre-draft visits, though Frazier counted locally and not against the team’s allotted 30.
True to form, Khan gave the center class credit, as he’s done before, but didn’t divulge any specifics or names.
“There’s a handful of centers, a number of players at the position that are going to be starters in the NFL this year and years to come,” he said. “But it’s no different than the other positions.”
It’s a similar line Mike Tomlin offered during last month’s NFL owners meetings, noting a handful of “plug ‘n play” centers before a drop-off in the readiness of the class. If the Steelers miss out on the “Big Three” names, they could look toward Penn State’s Hunter Nourzad as a backup option. A Cornell transfer who played in 2022 and 2023 at Penn State, his football IQ could make him as ready as any Tier 2/3 prospect to compete in the middle.
