The Pittsburgh Steelers have a gaping hole at middle now with the launch of Mason Cole. It’s no longer an unexpected move, however one that highlights just how an awful lot the team will want to address center. To their credit, they have Nate Herbig as depth, so that is not tons of an issue, however having any one who can effortlessly slot into the lineup and start is a large problem.
It’s a loaded free employer class, and someone with Arthur Smith connections like Aaron Brewer. But the draft is ripe with three possible picks in Jackson Powers-Johnson, Zach Frazier, and Graham Barton.
Powers-Johnson has played himself into professional first spherical hype. His motion capabilities for any individual of his size, over 330 pounds, is so rare. And yet, he has only started for one official season. For any individual that inexperienced at center to play the way he did speaks to coaching, but additionally the rare participant he is coming out of college.
On his lone day at the Senior Bowl, Powers-Johnson showcased elite core strength, and even reset his arms twice after getting beat at the start underneath his pads. But he is a former wrestler and is familiar with how to maximize leverage and win at the point of attack. It have to be no shock that he has already made a title for himself.
Frazier’s strong restoration from his damage and his potential to exhibit his full fitness earlier than the draft has him rocketing up draft boards. A player that was robotically linked to the Pittsburgh Steelers with the team’s second-round pick, the Steelers may additionally want to use their first-round pick at No. 20 standard , exchange lower back or exchange up in the second round to make sure they get Frazier at this point.
Frazier’s NFL Mock Draft Database common continues to have him most possibly to be a second-round pick, and still within the range of the Steelers. He’s currently the No. 50 usual prospect.
In the previous Barton has performed at left handle and center, however he played at core in 2020. That is only one yr of experience, even though most groups say Barton will shift inside. The Steelers are not going to draft a man who will task as a guard, so if they draft Barton, it will be due to the fact they view him as an interior offensive lineman or accept as true with he can stick it out at tackle.
He’s a talented, clean mover. And Barton, with all of his experience, has come to be one of the greater polished gamers in this class. You can evaluate him intently to Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski from the 2023 NFL Draft. But his achievable middle competencies make him extraordinarily interesting for a team like Pittsburgh.
It’s very likely, however, that one of these three players becomes Steelers at the stop of the day. They construct thru the draft, and when there are three plug-and-play starters, that is constantly a big plus.
