5 best moves of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 offseason

4. Drafting C Kendrick Green in the third round

The Steelers lost former All-Pro center, Maurkice Pouncey, this offseason, and apart from signing former backup B.J. Finney, they did nothing in the way of replacing him prior to the 2021 NFL Draft. Because this was such a big position of need, many thought that the Steelers could take a player like Alabama’s Landon Dickerson or Oklahoma’s Creed Humphrey as high as the 24th overall pick this year.

However, Kevin Colbert didn’t choose to address the center position until the third round when the Steelers took Illinois product, Kendrick Green. With Senior Bowl standout Quinn Meinerz still on the board and with Green playing mostly guard during his collegiate career, this was a bit of a head-scratcher at first, but it quickly started to make sense.

While Green is a bit undersized at 6’1 7/8” and 305 pounds, he has remarkable athletic traits that show up early and often on film. Green has incredible feet and his ability to move in space is exactly what the Steelers are looking for in Matt Canada’s new zone-blocking scheme. I don’t want to set the expectations too high for a mid-third-round pick, but I really think there is a chance he becomes a long-time starter for Pittsburgh, and he will have a chance to beat out Finney for the starting job as early as his rookie season.