How a 2nd-day pick could influence the entire Steelers draft

It would be a real stretch to say that third-round draft choice Kendrick Green is the most important member of the 2021 Steelers class.

Yeah, I might pull a muscle extending myself to make that argument. Unless a team takes a starting quarterback somewhere on Day 2, the first-round pick is always the most important member of any class.

That player gets the most money. That player potentially gets a longer contract. The most capital, cachet and scouting effort is invested in him.

Just because we think fondly of the 2013 Steelers draft since it produced Le’Veon Bell in the second round, his five good years here don’t erase the four bad ones they got from Jarvis Jones as the first-rounder. Bell just makes the memory of that class palatable based on his production.

However, Green does carry the potential of making this draft class a home run — or one we roll our eyes at seven or eight years from now.

First of all, if the former Illinois center is as good as the Steelers think he is, then he’ll be part of the long-term group of linemen entrusted to block for first-round running back Najee Harris. If he is as tough and nasty in the run blocking game as scouting reports indicate, he’ll help make Harris’ job a lot easier than that of recent Steelers running backs since Bell played his last game in the 2017 AFC playoffs.

“He was an alpha in that program,” Steelers offensive line coach Adrian Klemm said of Green Friday. “He is just a tremendous player. He can do it all. The pulls, physical in the run game, pass protection, all those different things. I’m just really ecstatic to coach him going forward.”

Also, if Green finds his way into the starting lineup as a rookie, he’ll erase one quickly developing narrative about this year’s draft.

One that I worry about a bit myself.

The concern is that for as tempting and as talented Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth was at pick No. 23 in the second round, the Steelers should’ve passed on him to take a more experienced center than Green.

After all, Green only started four games as a center at Illinois compared to 29 at guard. Other centers such as Oklahoma’s Creed Humphrey and Ohio State’s Josh Myers were much more highly decorated and experienced at the position. The Steelers left them on the board, only to see them vanish a few picks after they decided to take Freiermuth.

Granted, finding a second tight end is important seeing as how Vance McDonald just retired. Yet drafting Eric Ebron’s eventual successor could’ve perhaps waited a year given how quickly Humphrey or Myers could’ve replaced Maurkice Pouncey. And filling the hole created by Pouncey’s retirement seemed more pressing.

“I think when we look at the board, we look at who is available, regardless of the depth (in the draft),” general manager Kevin Colbert said Saturday. “If we really liked that player, we’re going to take them there. If we know there is good depth at two positions and two players are graded pretty close, we will take the player that has the least amount of depth as we look at the total picture.”

Even if Freiermuth performs well, the looming “what if” over that decision could linger should Green struggle to make the transition to center at the NFL level while Humphrey and Myers succeed in Kansas City and Green Bay respectively.

Furthermore, any struggles at center could hamper the run game, thus rocketing the naysayers about choosing Harris into a full-blown “I told you so” carousel that may never stop.

For his part, though, Green seems confident.

“I feel like I’m the most athletic offensive lineman in this year’s class,” Green said after being drafted. “I play with a mean streak. I’m looking to play physical and finish guys. So I think that’s something that will translate over well.”

You might be thinking I’m putting excessive onus on a third-round rookie offensive lineman.

Perhaps. But Green will need to get used to that quickly. Playing center in Pittsburgh means carrying on the Webster-Dawson-Hartings-Pouncey succession plan. You don’t just get to hide in the middle of 10 other guys like some centers in other cities might.

Don’t get me wrong. Harris and Freiermuth need to be worth their salt regardless of how some guy picked 87th in the draft performs.

But netting a few good years out of Green would make this year’s Steelers draft-weekend plan look a lot more logical. Especially if he can assume the starting job this year.

“I plan on trying to take the job right away,” Green told The News-Gazette (Champaign, Ill.) last weekend. “I’m going to go in and compete. They’ve got some older guys that have been in the league for a little bit there at that position. Kind of surreal, to be honest, but I’m ready to do it.”

Can one third-round rookie lineman swing the opinion of a fanbase for an entire draft class? Well, he shouldn’t have to do so.

But if Green becomes the diamond-in-the-rough Steelers brass thinks he is, he’ll certainly help.

Colin Likas joins me for Tuesday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. He covered Green with the Illini for The News-Gazette in Champaign. He gives us a rundown of Green’s career at Illinois, his transition from guard to center and his prospect for success with the Steelers.

Listen: Tim Benz and Colin Likas discuss Steelers’ draft pick Kendrick Green