Could James Daniels be the Steelers’ center solution?
The Pittsburgh Steelers are about two weeks away from the NFL Draft, and they still do not have a center option on the roster other than Nate Herbig. But, given the team’s plans to move James Daniels to center, could the need be at guard instead? Omar Khan was asked the question at the NFL Combine last month, and his response was not entirely clear, but it did not instill a lot of confidence in it as a viable alternative.
“It’s possible; he has positional versatility. But James had a great season at guard, which was very encouraging for us. “We feel like he improved every week,” Khan remarked. Daniels has previously played center and performed admirably. Daniels spent 2019 playing both center and guard for the Chicago Bears. He started both his sophomore and junior years at Iowa as a center, and that play helped him get taken into the NFL. He performed well there, but had his greatest NFL season in 2023 at right guard, thus transferring him poses a significant risk of creating a hole.
While shifting Daniels from guard to center would just shift the void one position, the Steelers have greater depth at guard, where Herbig is signed as a backup. Herbig also has the option of moving to center himself. In his NFL career, he has played all three inside positions, but only 49 snaps as a center with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2020-2021. Herbig played guard and tackle in college at Stanford, so his transition to center would be much more dramatic, but he has done it before and is a capable NFL lineman.
However, if you believe the Steelers should trade Daniels, it does not appear that is the most likely outcome. With Graham Barton, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and Zach Frazier available in the NFL Draft, all three could be the starting center right away.