The Pittsburgh Steelers have some definitive takeaways from the 2023 season. Mike Tomlin’s team extended their playoff losing streak to five games over seven years. The Steelers lost three consecutive regular season games for the sixth season. Kenny Pickett does not look like the long-term solution at quarterback. Mason Rudolph is a free agent and may have played his way out of the Steelers' price range and into an opportunity with another quarterback-needy franchise.
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Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones (77) gets ready to block Buffalo Bills pass rusher Leonard Floyd (56) during their 2023 AFC Wild Card matchup in Orchard Park, NY.
The Steelers also need to fix their offensive line. A popular tune for the last four seasons is still charting in Pittsburgh. Thanks to Omar Khan and Andy Weidl, the Steelers are not starting from scratch. Broderick Jones and Isaac Seumalo are a solid core of the new offensive line. James Daniels was serviceable at right guard, and if the Steelers enter 2024 with Daniels as the weakest link on the offensive line, Pittsburgh should be in good shape. If that is going to happen, they also have to replace Dan Moore Jr. as a starting tackle.
Pittsburgh, most importantly, has to wave goodbye to Mason Cole. Cole was a train wreck snapping the ball this season, and offset that by being an awful blocker too. Virtually every game down the stretch featured noticeably bad exchanges in the shotgun formation. Calling Cole a swinging gate at center is a disservice to the gate. The Steelers have to prioritize the position in 2024.
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Steelers center Mason Cole prepares to snap the football against the New England Patriots in a Week 14 game in Pittsburgh, PA at Acrisure Stadium.
The Steelers can save over $5 million by cutting Cole before his roster bonus is due in March. The idea of paying him the roster bonus as insurance for the position has been floated. That is ludicrous based on how the Steelers treated the 2023 rookie class. Removing Cole before camp is vital. The Steelers should have learned their lesson about retaining a substandard option from the Matt Canada fiasco. Pittsburgh has options in 2024, and these three players would be a major upgrade at the position.
Draft Sedrick Van Pran
There is a lot to like about Sedrick Van Pran. He took over the starting center position for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2021. Van Pran started 41 games for back-to-back National Champions. In three full seasons, Van Pran gave up one sack, no quarterback hits, and 24 total hurries as a starter against SEC competition. He does have shorter arms, and his measurables may cause him to fall into the third or fourth round, which would be a huge value pick for the Steelers. It should allow them to find a running mate for Joey Porter Jr. and a bookend tackle to pair with Jones.
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Steelers' potential franchise center, Sedrick Van Pran, may be available in the third or fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Van Pran is a nasty run blocker and a very capable pass blocker, but he does occasionally struggle a little with speed rushers. He should fit in well with his fellow Georgia classmates Jones, Darnell Washington, and George Pickens. If the Steelers are jumping on the bandwagon of importing the Bulldogs offense, Van Pran is a key ingredient in that recipe.
Sign Free Agent Andre James
The Las Vegas Raiders were so sold on Andre James as their center that they traded Rodney Hudson to the Arizona Cardinals in 2021. James has started 48 games for the Raiders over the last three seasons. He is still young at 26 years old and is projected to command a three-year contract for $27 million as the ninth-ranked center in the NFL, according to the notorious Pro Football Focus.
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Steelers' potential free agent target is Las Vegas Raiders center, Andre James.
Drafting a rookie is a risk, but so is paying a center nearly double what a draft pick would make over the next four seasons. James is a solid professional center who would improve the offensive line. He probably won't be a perennial Pro Bowl player, but he is a vast improvement over Cole. Curiously, the Raiders did not lock him up before he could become a free agent, and if he is available, he should draw considerable interest at the right price for the Steelers.
Draft Zach Frazier
It is hard not to fall in love with Zach Frazier's college career. Frazier is one inch shorter than Van Pran, but weighs exactly the same at 310. The West Virginia Mountaineers center is a two-time First Team Big-12 center and a two-time First Team Academic Honoree. He is projected to be picked late in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft and no later than very early in the third round.
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The Steelers could find the franchise center for the next decade by selecting Zach Frazier.
Frazier played in 47 games over four seasons for West Virginia. He only surrendered five sacks during his collegiate career, but he did give up 14 quarterback hits during his career. Frazier is considered a marginally better prospect because of his consistency as a run blocker and pass protector. He is an excellent trap blocker, which should appeal to Pittsburgh (which has featured trap plays in the running game for decades). Frazier will cost the Steelers more draft capital than Van Pran, but he is a long-term answer.
Steelers' Devastating Losses Should Be Squarely Centered On Mason Cole's Poor Performance
Center on the Steelers offensive line is one of the most revered positions in all of sports. The franchise history since Chuck Noll took over is steeped in a tradition of excellence. Cole simply does not belong in the same position where Ray Mansfield, Dermontti Dawson, Maurkice Pouncey, and the greatest of them all, Mike Webster, played. It is time for the organization to move on.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.
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