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Steelers Have Competition for Top Draft Center

The Pittsburgh Steelers are not the only team with eye's on the NFL Draft's top center.

Noah Strackbein

Mar 2, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oregon offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson (OL58) talks to
Mar 2, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oregon offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson (OL58) talks to / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't the only team showing interest in Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson, and despite some fallback on the NFL Draft board, they may be competing for him near the first round.

According to Bleacher Report's Ryan Fowler, the Steelers are one of four teams who have recently held top 30 pre-draft visits with Powers-Johnson. They join the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers.

The range of draft picks with his pre-draft visit teams could leave the Steelers with a decision to make. Pittsburgh selects 20th in the first round, with Dallas following at 24. If neither select Powers-Johnson, it leaves the door open for both Carolina, who picks 1st in the second round. As for Chicago, they don't select in the second round but have two picks in Round 1, including a possible trade-back scenario with the 9th pick.

Powers-Johnson shot up draft boards after an impressive start to the week at the Senior Bowl. But by the time the NFL Combine rolled around, his placement in the first round seemed shaky, and it's now expected he could fall into Round 2 by the end of the month.

ESPN's Matt Miller believes Powers-Johnson sits firmly outside the top 25 picks - making his visits rather interesting.

"In talking to scouts over the past two weeks, it sounds like teams are not as high on Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson as the media consensus," Miller wrote. "JPJ had a strong early performance at the Senior Bowl before leaving the second practice with a hamstring injury. It was that early impression that saw him rise up draft boards. He followed that up with a good showing in position drills at the combine but didn’t participate in most of the other drills — he did only the bench press and vertical/broad jumps — before shutting it down. The feedback I’ve received from teams is that while he might go in the first round, it’s unlikely that he would be selected in the top 25 picks based on where teams are ranking him."

If the Steelers want a center, they could choose Powers-Johnson at 20. They could also consider Duke's Graham Barton, who is an option in the first round, or West Virginia's Zach Frazier and Georgia's Sedrick Van Pran. They've scouted all four throughout the draft process.

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Noah Strackbein
NOAH STRACKBEIN

Noah is the Publisher for All Steelers, Inside the Panthers (InsideThePanthers.com) and Inside the Penguins (InsidethePenguins.com), and is the host of All Steelers Talk (YouTube.com/AllSteelersTalk). A Scranton native, Noah made his way to the Pittsburgh sports scene in 2017. Now, he's pretty much full-yinzer.

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