In nine days the 2024 NFL Draft will get underway in Detroit, ending months and months of endless speculation regarding each and every pick in the first round, and plenty of prospects as potential fits for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seven rounds of the draft.
For now, though, that speculation continues. On Tuesday, the Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo added to that speculation. In his weekly chat with readers of the P-G, Fittipaldo stated that the Steelers probably won’t select West Virginia center Zach Frazier in the first round, though a Day 2 selection of the West Virginia product seems more realistic from a Steelers standpoint.
The Steelers have a glaring need at the center position. In late February, Pittsburgh cut two-year starting center Mason Cole, opening up a major hole at the position as Pittsburgh had no clear-cut backup behind him on the roster. The Steelers never filled the hole in free agency or via trade, either, leaving veteran guard Nate Herbig as a potential answer at the center position.
Of course, the 2024 NFL Draft could provide that answer in a big way at the position, with names like Duke’s Graham Barton, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson and Frazier as players the Steelers have shown significant interest in throughout the pre-draft process.
Frazier seems to be the most popular of the bunch to the fan base, but Fittipaldo threw some cold water on that Tuesday. Asked by a reader if the Steelers would pick the West Virginia standout at No .20 overall as he continues to generate more buzz, Fittipaldo downplayed it.
“Probably not at 20, but maybe Day 2 if he’s still there,” Fittipaldo said, according to the Post-Gazette.
Frazier is recovering from a broken leg suffered at the end of the 2023 season, causing him to miss the Senior Bowl. Miraculously, Frazier was able to participate in position drills at the NFL Scouting Combine and then tested at the Big 12 Pro Day in March, where Steelers assistant offensive line coach Isaac Williams was in attendance to get a good look at Frazier.
The Steelers later hosted Frazier for a pre-draft visit at their South Side facility in Pittsburgh, solidifying the pre-draft interest and adding another potential dot to connect for Frazier, the Steelers and a possible selection.
However, the league has lessened the value of the center position over the last decade-plus, with the highest centers being drafted in the first round at No. 18 overall dating back to 2011. Just two have been selected in the first round of the NFL draft since 2020, that being New Orleans’ Cesar Ruiz, and Baltimore’s Tyler Linderbaum.
Lately, the center position has been addressed on Day 2 with names like Kansas City’s Creed Humphrey, Green Bay’s Josh Myers, Atlanta’s Drew Dalman, now-Eagles lineman Matt Hennessy and now-Titans center Lloyd Cushenberry III in recent seasons.
This year though, leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, there are at least three centers generating first-round buzz, that being Barton, Powers-Johnson and Frazier. Barton seems like a lock for the first round, while Powers-Johnson and Frazier could slide out of the first round and land on Day 2.
There could be an opportunity there for the Steelers to trade up and grab one of the two if they slide into the second round but as Fittipaldo stated, the Steelers probably won’t be selecting Frazier at No. 20, and the same could potentially be said for Powers-Johnson.
The positional value just isn’t there, and GM Omar Khan seems to be in line with more of the new-age thinking from a positional value perspective. We’ll see what he decides to do in nine days.
