Former NFL quarterback predicts Steelers to draft a hard-nosed center.
Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson has been heavily linked to the Pittsburgh Steelers during the pre-draft process. It’s no secret that the Steelers require a center, so this makes sense. Brooke Pryor chose Powers-Johnson in ESPN’s beat writers mock draft. She is one of many reporters and analysts who believe the highly touted Oregon center will join Pittsburgh as the 20th overall pick.
“The Steelers used free agency to get most of their ducks in a row, signing for Russell Wilson and trading for Justin Fields,” Pryor said in a statement. “But they’ll use the draft to get perhaps the most important duck in Powers-Johnson, selecting an offensive lineman with their first-round pick for the second year in a row. The team released starting center Mason Cole just before free agency, so Powers-Johnson, the Rimington Trophy winner for the nation’s best center, will be expected to contribute right away.”
Pryor’s colleague, former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, joined Zachary Smith of Steelers Now on Around The 412 to discuss the Steelers’ draft. He also predicted that the Steelers would take Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson in
Orlovsky thinks Powers-Johnson would be ideal for Arthur Smith’s zone scheme.
“I think center, and the type of center, is probably the primary person that they should get,” he went on to say.