Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan and Head Coach Mike Tomlin have been busy improving the team's roster this offseason. Much attention has been paid to the 2023 anemic offense. This includes hiring Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith to replace Matt Canada, who was fired after an embarrassing Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Since Smith's hiring, we have seen the organization work to accumulate the players it will need to implement his run-heavy, play-action type of offense. Since they needed quarterbacks who can throw a deep ball and are at least somewhat mobile, they got Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Many analysts believe that Smith will be able to bring out the positive attributes in those quarterbacks, while minimizing the negative ones.
Despite the pieces the Steelers have picked up this offseason, the team's former offensive guard, Trai Essex, thinks one area still needs to be addressed—the offensive line (particularly the center). Recently, Essex joined The Steel City Insider podcast, co-hosted by Jim Wexell and Jeremy Hritz. They asked Essex about his thoughts on the offseason and the impending draft.
"If we're going to, in my opinion, really follow this Arthur Smith style of football, we have to reinforce this offensive line. We have to; without a doubt, we gotta find an attitude guy to come in and play center. Somebody that's going to come in and demand respect, be that alpha front guy that we've had over the years - the Maurkice Pouncey, the Jeff Hartings, the Dermontti Dawson, obviously the list goes on and on. That's a very prestigious position as far as the Steelers are concerned," said Essex.
Essex feels that we have missed out on grabbing that talent over the past few years, citing the selection of Kenny Pickett over Tyler Linderbaum of the Baltimore Ravens. If Pittsburgh had chosen him with the 20th overall pick in 2022, it would have not only helped the offense tremendously, but also prevented the Ravens from getting him with the 25th pick.
Unfortunately, the Steelers haven't had a franchise-caliber center since Maurkice Pouncey retired at the end of the 2020 season. This means they don't have the luxury of spending time building a player up now; they need someone who can be pulled in as a rookie.
Steelers OG Trai Essex Names His Top Centers In 2024
Essex spent eight years in the NFL, seven of those were in Pittsburgh. When Essex was drafted in the third round of 2005, he joined a line with proven leadership in center Jeff Hartings. He watched as the team looked for his replacement and ultimately found Pouncey.
Essex knows how critical that position is to a smooth-running offense, especially learning a new playbook and adapting to new quarterbacks. He believes there are three centers that the Steelers should be targeting when they enter the draft: Jackson Powers-Johnson out of Oregon, Zach Frazier from West Virginia, and Sedrick Van Pran from Georgia.
They all have their upsides, depending on how the draft goes and who's available. He said passing up on Powers-Johnson would be foolish if he is there when they pick 20th. He loves his swagger on the field, but he added that he is concerned about rumors that he's a "head case," citing the fact that we don't need any drama.
Essex really likes that Broderick Jones has spoken out, endorsing Van Pran. While he is not your average-size center, slightly shorter, with shorter arms, he has been on championship teams, and Essex sees that as a positive. When your first-round pick from the year before, who will be standing practically next to your center all year, says he is confident in his abilities, you have to have confidence in that.
Essex said that it really will depend on timing. If Powers-Johnson is gone at 20, they must decide how much they want to reach because Essex believes Frazier is a stretch at 20. Another upside to Van Pran is that he is currently being tabbed as a third-rounder, which allows the Steelers to use the first and second-round picks for something else they need; Essex suggests a cornerback to help Joey Porter Jr., or a defensive lineman to learn from Cameron Heyward.
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