With the draft less than a week away, and with all of the data points on pre-draft visits, pro day tracking, combine meetings, and more out of the way, the list of players that the Pittsburgh Steelers could make their first selection at pick No. 20 is becoming clearer. Offensive line help seems to be the direction that the team will go, but will it come at center or tackle in the first round?
Ray Fittipaldo was asked on Friday morning during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan’s The Joe Starkey Show who will be the Steelers’ first selection. It came down to two names.
“It’s gonna be Amarius Mims, the right tackle from Georgia, or Duke center Graham Barton,” Fittipaldo said. “I’m kind of torn on those two right now sitting here a week away. I think it’s gonna be one of those two guys.”
Recently, in Tyler Dunne’s Go Long substack, an anonymous scout told Bob McGinn that Mims “may be the biggest bust” due to his lack of college starts. In that same article, another scout questioned why you would put a 6-5 player at center with Barton projected to kick inside at the NFL level. “I don’t think he’d have a chance,” the scout added.
So two of the leading candidates to be the Steelers’ first-round pick are drawing criticism from NFL scouts in the days leading up to the big event. Probably not what Steelers fans want to be hearing on prospects that the team is clearly interested in, and I know some share these concerns.
Not only is Barton 6-5, but he hasn’t played center since 2020. Not only is Mims inexperienced, but he had a couple ankle injuries that could be cause for concern. The Steelers have centered their offseason on being in win-now mode, so why are two of the candidates they are showing interest in potentially projects who will need some time to adjust?
“I think that’s probably more of an old-school scout who would say that,” Fittipaldo said on the height criticism of Barton playing center. “He’s big enough to withstand those big interior defensive linemen the Steelers are gonna see within their division, namely the Ravens. So you want a big center. His athletic profile, while not elite at tackle…it’s elite for center.”
I tend to agree that the height aspect of Barton is a little overblown. There are plenty of centers in the league who are 6-5 or taller. The Detroit Lions made Frank Ragnow a first-round pick in 2018 at 6051. Mitch Morse, a tackle in college with zero center snaps coming out, was drafted in the second round a little closer to 6-6 and played 916 center snaps in his rookie season. Joe Tippman, Connor Williams, Bradley Bozeman, and even Mason Cole are among others at or above 6-5 to play center in the NFL.
As for Mims, perhaps the criticisms are a little more valid.
“The Mims thing, I mean it’s true,” Fittipaldo said. “Eight college starts on his resume, but he’s also 6-8, he’s got all the athleticism you want. There’s a lot to work with there. But I just got the feeling that maybe, I’m not gonna call him a project, but I think it’s gonna take some time for him to develop.”
How long can the Steelers afford to realistically wait for a guy like Mims to be ready? Broderick Jones was considered inexperienced last draft with 19 college starts, and he didn’t win the left tackle job out of training camp over Dan Moore Jr. He had to find his way into the starting lineup at right tackle beginning in Week 9.
If Mims is the pick, and he needs half a season, or potentially even longer to enter the starting lineup, you are looking at Jones remaining out of position at right tackle and Moore at left tackle for another half season or longer. By the time Jones flips back to the left side, he would likely have more NFL right tackle experience than he did college left tackle experience and could even need time to adjust back to life on the left side.
The Steelers’ top two quarterbacks for 2024, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, hold onto the ball longer than any other passers in the league. Because of that they are also the two most sacked quarterbacks in the league. Can the Steelers afford to risk the 35-year-old Wilson taking unnecessary sacks because the offensive line didn’t receive the help it desperately needed?
These are all questions the Steelers will have to answer for themselves before making Barton or Mims their first-round pick.
