Behind the Steel Curtain
Just hours out from the start of the 2024 NFL Draft, and we have some very sensitive intel to share. Ahead of the draft, we polled Steelers Nation to get a sense of where there heads are at ahead of Round 1.... and the results are in.
Drumroll, please....
Steelers Nation is hoping for Duke IOL Graham Barton, who led the polls with 32% of the votes.
Here’s a full breakdown of how the votes panned out:
Though there was no runaway winner, seeing Barton atop the list seems like a good thing, as most NFL insiders have indicated there’s a growing sense that Pittsburgh is eager for the versatile offensive lineman to wear black and gold. In fact, Barton was the projected pick for the Steelers at pick No. 20 in four of six analysts’ final NFL mock drafts dropped Thursday, including Field Yates and Mel Kiper of ESPN, Dane Brugler of the Athletic and Brenden Donahue of Sharp Football.
Back in mid-March, Behind The Steel Curtain contributor Mike Nicastro had the following to say in his evaluation of Graham Barton:
There is a very obvious elephant in the room here; can Barton come in from day one and be your starting center after not playing the position for a few years? During the Mason Cole era our eyes were consistently bleeding due to poor snaps that led to broken plays. There is not much tape of Barton snapping the football. But I’m not overly worried. He’s being touted by most experts as a center, and given his dominance in college, I’m confident he can play any of the three interior line positions at a high level.
He should be on Pittsburgh’s radar at 20 and is probably the second-best center in the draft behind Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson.
Read his full evaluation on Barton, including his strengths and weaknesses, as well as some tape to illustrate his potential fit with the Steelers. #HereWeGo.
Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.
