Let's stay on the offensive side of the ball and take a look at the most gifted center in this year's draft class: Ryan Kalil.
If you want to see Kalil in action at this year's Combine, take a look at the following clip:
USC is at the top of my 'Hate List' in sports, but I'd gladly welcome Kalil to the Steelers family
There may not be a better athlete in this year's draft than Joe Staley, the offensive linemen from Central Michigan that I profiled earlier in the day. But, Kalil is no slouch himself. At the Combine, the USC standout ran the 40 in 4.96, benched 225 pounds 34 times, and impressed scouts in just about every drill that measured footwork and agility.
The Steelers might be interested in Kalil because of Hasting's retirement. The Steelers were spoiled during the Bill Cowher era by the dominant and reliable play of Hartings and Dermonti Dawson. Neither rarely, if ever, missed a game, and the continuity that our O-Lines have demonstrated has to be largely attributed to the play of our centers.
Without Hastings, the Steelers may have even more trouble running the ball consistently than they did last year, when Hartings was clearly on his last leg physically. It might behoove us to draft a center that we know will be productive for years to come. Of course, we did acquire Sean Mahan in free agency, but we brought him in partly because of his versatility to play multiple positions along the line.
Most mock boards have Kalil going later than the 15th pick, but it's all about needs. If we decide we absolutely must solidify our offensive line for the future, it's entirely plausible that we raise some eyebrows by taking either Kalil or Staley in the middle of the 1st Round.