Steelers Show Interest in Michigan State IOL J.D. Duplain

The Pittsburgh Steelers are showing interest in Michigan State interior offensive lineman J.D. Duplain, according to a report by MLFootball. Duplain started 42 straight games, almost all at left guard, but has stated throughout the process that he can play at both guard spots and even tried some center work.

Duplain is one of the most experienced interior offensive linemen in the class. He has experience at both center and guard, making him an ideal interior swingman for any team looking for one. The Steelers certainly fall under that category and could look to add Duplain to the depth chart on the interior.

There is lots of experience and pedigree in Duplain’s profile, but one of the things that sticks out the most is his durability. Playing over 3000 snaps in his career, Duplain was a bastion of consistency and health, earning one of the Spartans’ captainships in his time with the team.

To anyone who knows anything about the Steelers, their extensive interest in centers and guards is not surprising.

This team needs to either sign, trade, or draft someone that can comfortably play at center. Mike Tomlin acknowledged the fact that something had to happen, and well, it will. It’s just a matter of time before a solution is found at center, and obviously, the NFL Draft is the first place to look for this with the free agent market as bare as it is currently.

“It’s still a work in progress,” Tomlin said. “Obviously, we’ve still got Herbig on our roster, but we’ve got some work to do there, whether it’s continued in free agency and/or the draft. We’ll get something done, obviously at that position, but you can say the same thing about some other obvious positions where we might be short on the depth chart from a number standpoint.”

It’s a uniquely deep center class. But it’s not deep in guys who will play right away. That is reserved for a few guys, Jackson Powers-Johnson, Zach Frazier, and Graham Barton. If you want to extend it, you can get to some guys like Sedrick Van-Pran Granger. Bud guys like Duplain could be the double up to that position.