I’ve finally started to pay attention to the 2024 NFL Draft (and when I say “pay attention,” I mean when I’m not paying attention to the men’s and women’s college basketball NCAA Tournaments and/or the Pirates), and a lot of the coverage is the same as it’s been for the past zillion years.

For example, the Steelers are in desperate need of a center. How desperate? So desperate that Mason Cole is starting to look good again. Therefore, there are two centers linked to the Steelers in just about every mock draft and article about the draft; I’m talking about Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon and Zach Frazier from West Virginia. According to the Drafttek.com site I always reference because it’s the fastest for my laptop, Jackson-Powers is the top-ranked center on the board (23rd, overall), while Frazier is rated third (43rd, overall). Hey, what about Duke’s Graham Barton? He’s the second-rated center on the board (35th, overall). Is Frazier getting all of this attention because he’s from WVU? Is this like the Kenny Pickett cult stuff? If the Steelers draft Frazier, will there be a cult-like following that will think he can do no wrong (even if he blocks like Pickett throwing a football without a glove)? Part of me is looking forward to that as a Pitt fan. I’ll get to say things like, “This Zach Frazier cult is insufferable,” and then I’ll tag the Tweet with some laughing emojis and #H2P and #13-9.

Anyway, should the Steelers draft a center in the first round (20th, overall)? No? But Jackson-Powers is rated as the 23rd prospect on the board (at least on Drafttek.com where, again, it works the fastest on my laptop). “You should never draft a center in the first round,” you say. Never? “No, because it doesn’t represent great draft value.” OK, but what if he turns into Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson or Maurkice Pouncey? “Still, no.”

Damn.

All I know is this: I will have an epic meltdown if the Steelers don’t select Graham Barton.

The main point of this article is about whether or not it would make sense for the Steelers to trade up or down in this year’s draft.

I was listening to 93.7 The Fan just the other day, and Ray Fittipaldo, who covers the Steelers as a beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, said he thinks the Steelers could trade up OR down when the draft kicks off on April 25.

Of course, he said that. They always say that this time of year.

You can find logical reasons for the Steelers going in either direction. For example, if they trade up, they’d be privy to high-end prospects at just about any position of need. Not center, obviously (not great draft value), but what about offensive tackle? Plenty of candidates who are expected to be taken in the top half of the first round. What about corner? There are a few of those. How about receiver? Yes, there are plenty for a position that is becoming more valuable in terms of not only draft pedigree but lucrative contracts–even if folks like to say you can find them anywhere. They like to say that about the Steelers and their ability to draft them in any round, but that really only applies to Antonio Brown (sixth round in the 2010 NFL Draft). When you really examine past drafts, Pittsburgh usually finds its receivers in the second or third round, and even then, the results are mixed.

The Steelers haven’t selected a receiver in the first round since 2006 when they took Santonio Holmes with the 25th pick. Since Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl just a few months prior, the organization had to trade up seven spots to nab Holmes. Ironically enough, Holmes would be named the MVP of their next Super Bowl victory just a few years later.

Back to the cornerback spot. After many years of futility, it looks like the Steelers finally found a shutdown guy when they selected Joey Porter Jr. with the 32nd pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. Why not go for two shutdown corners? Sure, you’d eventually have to pay both, but that’s a 2028 problem. Who cares about that when you’re spending the next few years terrorizing quarterbacks and receivers?

If the Steelers moved up to take a right tackle, it would be like the time they traded up in the 2023 NFL Draft and picked left tackle Broderick Jones. Pittsburgh eventually played Jones during the 2023 regular season but it was at right tackle. Drafting a high-end right tackle this season could allow the Steelers to move Jones over to the left side where he would represent greater draft value.

Second thought, the Steelers could trade back and acquire more picks. This would allow them to address more positions of need with multiple selections in the second and/or third round.

Omar Khan could cook or eat or whatever.

Then again, I can certainly see the Steelers staying put at 20 and allowing the board to come to them.

Just as long as they don’t take a center.

There are two things I hate in this world: People who are intolerant of poor draft value and drafting centers at 20.