5 biggest positional needs for Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022 offseason

2. Steelers need a center

Kendrick Green proved that the NFL stage is too big for him, and he couldn’t have done much worse in his first season with the Steelers. Despite flashing his speed and quickness to get to the second level at times, Green did very little with these opportunities and core strength was a major issue this year.

Due to his small frame and lack of overall play strength, Green was bullied by stronger defensive tackles up the middle as a rookie and he was too easily bull-rushed into the quarterback. While his strength could improve with another year in the weight room, his short, squatty frame is essentially maxed out.

By the end of the season, Mike Tomlin and the coaching staff had lost so much confidence in Green that he rode the bench in place of underwhelming veteran, J.C. Hassenaur. Neither player seems to be the long-term answer at the center position, and sadly, Green might just have to be a swing interior lineman for the Steelers.

While most of the available free agent centers this year are in their 30s and don’t really fit with the rebuild the team would like to have, the draft offers an elite center prospect in Iowa’s Tyler Linderbaum. Whether or not he makes it to pick 20 in the NFL Draft is a different question.