What if the Steelers can’t land a starting center in the draft?
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a screaming need at the center position, at least from an outside perspective. I don’t fully buy the idea that they are content to settle on Nate Herbig if they can’t find a better alternative. But right now the reality is the Steelers are putting all their eggs in the draft basket.
Despite releasing their starting center from last season, the Steelers have not even added an offensive lineman in free agency. Their backup center, Herbig, has never started a game at center before, and is the current next man up.
With the draft just weeks away and free agent signings down to a trickle, it appears the Steelers are focusing their efforts on landing a starting center among the latest college prospects. But if they bypass a Jackson Powers-Johnson in the first round, they’re opening up an array of potentially negative outcomes.
What if Zach Frazier or Sedrick Van Pram or even Graham Barton are all gone by their second-round pick? What are the odds that they can find a center who can start right away from that point on? The last time they forced the issue, they received a year’s worth of dismal play from Kendrick Green.
Offensive line play is arguably more important now to the offense’s success following Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement. They cannot afford to have a clear and obvious weak link right up the middle. Especially not if the height-challenged Russell Wilson is the starter, constantly pushing him out of the pocket.
So let’s say the Steelers don’t find their center during the first two days of the draft—what is the next course of action? The Miami Dolphins’ Connor Williams, recovering from a torn ACL, remains available as the most notable free agent. Of course, their old friend Mason Cole is still unsigned since they released him in February, as well.
Beyond that, the market is pretty slim, but they could also pursue the trade route. Or they could consider moving RG James Daniels to center, which I continue to find extremely unlikely.
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? Will he play just one season in Pittsburgh before moving on, or the Steelers moving on from him? How will the team address the depth chart?
The Steelers are swirling with more questions this offseason than usual, frankly, though the major free agent list is less substantial than usual. It’s just a matter of…what happens next? Where do they go from here? How do they find the way forward?
