2024 NFL Draft, Full 3-round mock draft post-Combine: Vikings, Chiefs trade up

20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon

What you believe the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to do with the 20th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft really depends on how you map out their offseason. This is a team that made the postseason a year ago, sure, but it’s also a franchise that is coming into free agency and the draft with no shortage of places where they could easily upgrade. 

For me, though, it seems like a pretty easy formula that the Steelers are going to follow. It would first make sense for any moves at quarterback with uncertainty around Kenny Pickett to come via free agency or trade. Then, beyond that, the other pressing need at cornerback could be answered in the same manner, perhaps even with a big swing at a player like L’Jarius Sneed. 

That, however, leaves center as a glaring spot for the Steelers, which they also clearly realized when they outright released the starter from a year ago, Mason Cole. Therefore, there’s no more obvious pick in that scenario than Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson. 

A behemoth for a center at 328 pounds, Powers-Johnson moves extremely well like you’d want from the position, but does so with requisite power behind that size. He’s an absolutely dominant player already but is also one of the younger players in the class, meaning he could get even more exceptional. That’s more than enough for the Steelers to hitch their wagon to him.