Analysts believe Steelers can land biggest need in second round of NFL Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers still have a few holes to fill with the 2024 NFL Draft less than three weeks away. Among those vacancies Pittsburgh must fill are wide receiver, offensive tackle, center and cornerback.

The most glaring need of the bunch, however, is center as the team has not added one since releasing 2023 starter Mason Cole earlier this offseason.

Luckily for the Steelers, ESPN draft analysts Field Yates and Mel Kiper think they can land their next starting center outside of the first round.

There aren't a ton of plug-and-play centers in this year's draft class, but there are a few, including Duke's Graham Barton, Oregon's Jackson Powers-Johnson and West Virginia's Zach Frazier.

Sources for Yates and Kiper are telling them that Powers-Johnson and Frazier should be available for Pittsburgh to grab sometime in the second round.

"I mocked them early in the second round, obviously, and the feedback that I have gotten since this mock dropped is that both of the centers were too high — both Jackson Powers-Johnson and Zach Frazier," Yates said on the "First Draft Podcast." "Graham Barton, he's an unimpeachable first round pick. I might have been too low on Barton with him at 20th overall."

If that's the case, the Steelers could have another successful draft under general manager Omar Khan, who was praised for his first draft a year ago. 

With center being a potential target in the second round, Pittsburgh can then focus on wide receiver, offensive tackle or cornerback in the first.

It would still be a little risky for the Steelers since they aren't scheduled to make their first selection on Day 2 until pick No. 51, which may be too far back to stand pat and land Powers-Johnson or Frazier.

However, Khan has proven to be aggressive when there's a player Pittsburgh wants to acquire. So if Yates and Kiper are correct in their analysis, a small second-round trade-up for a center seems very possible for the Steelers.