Steelers Don’t Meet with Two Top Centers at NFL Combine

INDIANAPOLIS — The Pittsburgh Steelers did not formally meet with Jackson Powers-Johnson or Zach Frazier at the NFL Combine on Saturday. They did meet with Georgia’s Sedrick Van-Pran and Duke’s Graham Barton, who was the only two of the top centers that did not meet with the Steelers at the Senior Bowl, which is likely where the focus is here.

The draft stock of Frazier has continued to rise and the potential Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 NFL Draft target has now entered the conversation as a first-round pick. In the latest latest mock draft by Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com, Frazier is projected to be taken at No. 29 overall in the first round by the Detroit Lions.

In the mock draft, Frazier was be the eighth OL taken off the board, out of the 10 projected to go in the first round.

It’s rare for a center to go in the first round, but Powers-Johnson has played himself into legitimate first round hype. His movement skills for someone of his size, over 330 pounds, is so rare. And yet, he has only started for one legitimate season. For someone that inexperienced at center to play the way he did speaks to coaching, but also the rare player he is coming out of college.

On his lone day at the Senior Bowl, Powers-Johnson showcased elite core strength, and even reset his hands twice after getting beat initially underneath his pads. But he is a former wrestler and understands how to maximize leverage and win at the point of attack. It should be no surprise that he has already made a name for himself.

The Steelers are now without a starting center months before the 2024 NFL Draft. If the depth chart were released now, Nate Herbig would likely be there. James Daniels and Spencer Anderson can play at that spot, but there are other connections in free agency to watch.