The Pittsburgh Steelers seem primed to address the middle function in free business enterprise or the NFL Draft. And whilst there is a excellent crop of free agent centers, the pinnacle of the NFL Draft has multiple facilities that stick out positively. In the brand new mock draft by way of the Athletic, Nick Baumgardner has the team selecting Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson with their first-round pick, arguably the nice core prospect in the class.“Jacksonville, at 17, may want to use a center, as should a few teams behind Pittsburgh (including Miami at 21). The first-rate offensive participant at the Senior Bowl, Powers-Johnson will be position-limited in the NFL, but his athleticism, strength and IQ — at simply 21 years historic — make him a candidate to stroll in and start subsequent year,” Baumgartner wrote.
It’s uncommon for a middle to go in the first round, but Powers-Johnson has played himself into respectable first round hype. His movement skills for anybody of his size, over 330 pounds, is so rare. And yet, he has solely started out for one professional season. For someone that inexperienced at middle to play the way he did speaks to coaching, however also the rare player he is coming out of college.Powers-Johnson had a high-quality week at the Senior Bowl. On his lone full day, Powers-Johnson showcased elite core strength, and even reset his fingers twice after getting beat at the start beneath his pads. But he is a former wrestler and is familiar with how to maximize leverage and win at the factor of attack. It ought to be no surprise that he has already made a title for himself.
But whilst he played core for only one year, he even got some reps at defend and showed out there. That was for the first in two seasons, however that kind of mentality and overall performance is what Powers-Johnson brings to the table.
