Breakfast with Benz NFL Draft preview: Despite Steelers' need at center, 'anomaly' of elite tackles may be too much to pass up

As we discussed in our NFL Draft preview podcast series with former pro and college scout Matt Williamson, the Pittsburgh Steelers have significant needs at defensive back and wide receiver. But in both cases, the truly top-notch players at those positions are likely to be gone by the time they select at No. 20. Plus, there is plenty of valuable depth in both talent pools through the second and third rounds.

That’s why most analysts seem to be honing in on the Steelers taking an offensive lineman with their first pick — either a center or a tackle.

That certainly appears to be where the fan vote lies, as well.

Ok, "best player available." Sure. I get it. But now that Tomlin/Khan have addressed the media, which position of need do you most want the #Steelers to address with their No.1 pick. (D-Line/other...reply below)

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) April 22, 2024

Since the Steelers have moved on from last year’s starting center, Mason Cole, three names have repeatedly come up as options there for the Steelers in the first round:

Duke’s Graham Barton: He’s a college tackle who has some center background and is likely to play inside in the NFL.

“Super smart, super athletic, really fun to watch, covers a ton of ground,” Williamson said in Tuesday’s episode. “If he was at Georgia or Alabama he would not have been a tackle. He would have been an interior player. For the Steelers, he looks like a 12-year starter at center. But James Daniels is a free agent after the year. Maybe he would be the replacement right guard. Any of the interior spots are fine. His arms are just extraordinarily short for a tackle.”

Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson: “I don’t know if I prefer Barton or Powers-Johnson. That’s a tough call for me,” Williamson said. “Powers-Johnson is fun, though. I mean he is really wide with this huge chest and he plays with great energy. He runs down the field and picks up his guy, and runs back to the huddle. Nasty as could be. Highly physical at 328 pounds.”

West Virginia’s Zach Frazier: “Frazier would be adored here,” Williamson said. “He is tough as they come, phenomenal wrestling background. A true center. He’s not guard capable. He’s not a great athlete. He’s nasty. His type of player lasts in the league a long time.”

But for as good as that trio of centers is, Williamson says that the club should be leaning toward taking one of the many highly rated tackles available in the draft.

“You have to be pretty special to be a first-round center, especially in terms of positional value versus a tackle or a corner,” Williamson said. “If you told me, right now, ‘Would you trade the 20th pick for Jackson Powers-Johnson, or would you wait and see how it shakes out?’ I would wait and see how it shakes out, because I think there will be tackles I like better. … Especially with the crop that you’re given.”

Williamson says the depth at the position this spring is rare.

“Early starters. High-end potential starters that could develop,” Williamson said. “Depth all the way through maybe the fourth round — which is unheard of. I think you have to come away with one of these tackles. Ideally, to me, that would be your pick at 20 — or moving down to 24 or 25. There are so many to choose from that are, frankly, not unlike the Broderick Jones’ level. If this was last year, you wouldn’t have to trade up to go get Broderick Jones. This is the anomaly. Rarely are there this many tackles that are this exciting that could end up being high-end players.”

In terms of who sits atop the board at the position, Williamson says Notre Dame’s Joe Alt should be the first tackle taken and will be gone before the Steelers pick. He also thinks Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu will be selected before getting into Pittsburgh’s range.

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If the Steelers hold at pick No. 20, Williamson says it’s possible that one or two of the following first-round projected tackles may still be there: Washington’s Troy Fautanu, Alabama’s J.C. Latham and Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga.

“Those three, I think you just go to the podium, and you’re quite happy,” Williamson said. “If they’re there at 20, you just say, ‘Thanks,’ and you turn the card in and you’re like, ‘I’m good. You’re playing right tackle now.”

Presumably, then, Jones would move back over to his natural left tackle position, and the Steelers would either trade Dan Moore Jr. or move him to the bench.

If all five of those players are gone, Williamson says two other tackles — Georgia’s Amarius Mims and Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton — are also worthy of a first-round selection by the Steelers.

“There are a lot of similarities there,” Williamson said. “I prefer Mims. I would be comfortable with Mims at 20. I’d be comfortable with either at 25 or 26 on a trade down. They are immense balls of clay to work with. They have very little starting experience. Both those schools had multiple tackles drafted ahead of them recently. So they haven’t had a lot of time to see the field. And Mims has had some injuries.”

Williamson says the size of both players alone may make them too good to pass up.

“They’re huge,” Williamson said. “Guyton (6-foot-8, 322 pounds) looks like a massive power forward. Mims looks like no one we’ve ever seen before (6-foot-8, 340 pounds). He looks like he should be in the WWE.”

????Georgia OT - Amarius Mims????

▪️6’7” / 340 lbs / 21 yrs old
▪️8 career starts in 3 years
▪️0 sacks & 0 QB hits allowed (PFF)
▪️9.59 RAS (no agility testing)

Big Board Ranking ⤵️
• PFF: 20th
• PFN: 23rd
• ESPN: 26th
• Daniel Jeremiah: 22nd
• MDDB Consensus: 23rd

“Natural… pic.twitter.com/UP6dnMYVhJ

— Hogg (@HoggNFL) April 20, 2024

Both are so raw, though; we might see Moore hold the left tackle job for the last year of his contract, have Jones stay at right tackle for 2024 and have Guyton or Mims apprentice at the position until 2025

In the podcast, I’ll tell you why that part of the conversation would make me hesitate when it comes to drafting one of those two. Williamson also advances other center options if the Steelers bypass the top three names on the board in the first round, and we talk about some guard prospects as well.