Where will former Oregon C Jackson Powers-Johnson go in the 2024 NFL Draft? While it’s hard to give an exact answer to that question with a little less than two weeks to go before the draft gets underway in Detroit, MI, we do at least have a growing list of teams that have brought Powers-Johnson in for a visit.
According to Ryan Fowler of The Draft Network, we can add the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the list of teams that have hosted Powers-Johnson for a pre-draft visit so far. Additionally, Fowler notes that in addition to the Buccaneers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Powers-Johnson has also had pre-draft visits with the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and Carolina Panthers.
The fact that the Buccaneers and Cowboys have brought Powers-Johnson in for a visit shouldn’t be overly shocking as both teams could certainly use a center early in this year’s draft. I pointed out as much in a recent post on the site that focused on which teams might be looking to draft a center in the first two rounds this year.
Currently, the Cowboys are believed to have Brock Hoffman, a former undrafted free agent out of Virginia Tech, listed at the top of their offseason depth chart at the center position. Hoffman has all of 156 NFL snaps at center to date and they all came last season with the Cowboys.
As for the Buccaneers, Robert Hainsey, a former third round draft pick out of Notre Dame, is believed to be their top center ahead of the draft. He has essentially been the Buccaneers starter the last two seasons.
When it comes to the Bears, they acquired Ryan Bates from the Buffalo Bills back in March via a trade. He and Coleman Shelton figure to battle for the starting center job this offseason, barring the team adding another center during the draft. The Bears, by the way, sent offensive line coach Chris Morgan to Powers-Johnson’s pro day back in March. Steelers offensive line coach Pat Meyer was present for that pro day as well.
When it comes to the Panthers and their center position, Austin Corbett, who is set to earn $6.25 million in 2024, appears slated to be atop the team’s depth chart at that position. The Panthers invested heavily in their guard position during free agency and that is why Corbett is likely to be asked to kick inside to center.
As far as draft capital goes, the Bears have just four scheduled picks right now with two of those being in the top 10. If they trade out of the ninth overall spot, they could maybe get themselves in position to draft Powers-Johnson later in the first round or at least ahead of 51st overall pick, which the Steelers currently own.
The Cowboys and the Buccaneers, on the other hand, currently own the 24th and 26th overall selections, respectively, in the first round. The Panthers, who don’t currently own a first-round pick in this year’s draft, are slated to pick 33rd and 39th overall.
What does all of this mean? In short, it certainly feels like if the Steelers really want to draft Powers-Johnson this year, they likely might need to do so in the first round at 20th overall. Should, however, all teams bypass Powers-Johnson in the first round, it’s hard to imagine him sliding to the Steelers at 51st overall.
In closing, there also could be another team or three with eyes on Powers-Johnson. Remember, these are only the pre-draft visits that we know about so far when it comes to the former Oregon center.
The Steelers had Powers-Johnson in for a pre-draft visit this past week. The team is expected to address the center and some point during the first two days of this year’s draft and likely somewhere within the first two rounds as well.
