Steelers Predicted To Make An Intriguing Day 1 Draft Day Trade With The Cowboys

The Pittsburgh Steelers could go a number of different directions with the 20th pick in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft. ESPN's Bill Barnwell predicted that they would trade back in the draft with the Dallas Cowboys in his 2024 Mock Draft With All Trades. The Steelers have a handful of needs that will be addressed in the draft including center, tackle, wide receiver, cornerback and defensive line depth. Trading back in the first round would give General Manager Omar Khan more picks to address those needs. If Khan can strike a deal with Cowboys Owner and General Manager Jerry Jones, both sides could benefit in their own way.

Barnwell elaborated on his thoughts.

"Cowboys get: 1-20, 4-119; Steelers get: 1-24, 3-87, 5-174

It's rare to see two of the league's most storied franchises come together on a trade, but there's some logic here for both parties. For the Cowboys, this is a chance to move up ahead of the [Miami] Dolphins and [Philadelphia] Eagles for interior offensive line help. Assuming that Dallas pushed Tyler Smith to left tackle on a full-time basis, it could be looking to add Graham Barton (Duke) -- Mel Kiper Jr.'s top-ranked center -- to play guard or center."

Barnwell continued as to why a deal like this would make sense for Pittsburgh specifically.

"The Steelers could stand to add another offensive lineman, but they would probably be looking toward tackle as opposed to guard. This wasn't a deep team a year ago, and the days when they had homegrown talent waiting to burst through the ranks up and down the roster appear to be in the past. I'd like to see Pittsburgh add more depth across the board with this draft, and Mike Tomlin's team would have five top-100 picks if it did this deal."

The Cowboys would make this trade in order to select offensive lineman Graham Barton to beef up their interior offensive line, according to Barnwell. The Steelers have also had their eye on Barton with a similar intention of beefing up their interior, but the value added from trading back could outweigh the team's love for the projected center. Barton offers more versatility to move across all five positions on the line than any of the other top centers in the draft, which makes him a great fit for Dallas. 

Steelers Trading Back Could Allow Them To Draft West Virginia Center Zach Frazier

The Steelers have shown heavy interest in Zach Frazier as well, and with his draft stock rising, they might not be able to get him at pick 51 on day two for the center position. They've met with all three of the consensus top center prospects in Barton, Frazier and Jackson Powers-Johnson, but seem to be enamored with the West Virginia center and what he can do as a day one starting interior lineman. Frazier will come into the NFL with far more experience at the center position than Barton and Powers-Johnson. Frazier made 37 consecutive starts at center and was a two-time All-American. Barton spent his last three seasons at Duke playing left tackle and only has 5 career starts at center, while Powers-Johnson only played 66 snaps at center prior to his junior season where he won the Rimington Trophy, awarded to the nation's top center. 

The last time the Steelers drafted a lineman and had him start Week 1 that same year was when Kendrick Green was selected with the 87th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Green had much more experience playing guard as he made 29 starts at that position and only four at center in his college career. Green started in 15 games as a rookie during the 2021 season, but was moved to guard the following offseason and was a gameday inactive for all 17 games before being traded to the Houston Texans for a sixth round pick. The Steelers don't currently have a lineman on the roster who has a ton of experience at center, so trading down to select the polished Mountaineer could be what the Steelers' front office is most comfortable with.

It's hard to say what the Steelers would do with their extra third round pick acquired from Dallas in this predicted trade, but the team has a few needs that could be adressed with another top 100 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft next weekend. The Steelers also adding a fifth round pick in this trade will be useful as well for Khan to find another potential quality depth player on day three of the draft.