Steelers Fans Need To Stop Agonizing Over Failed Kendrick Green Experiment In Discussions About Graham Barton

The Pittsburgh Steelers needed a center badly in the 2021 offseason after perennial Pro Bowler Maurkice Pouncey announced his retirement. The team selected Kendrick Green from Illinois in the third round to try to fill the position. Pittsburgh is in the market for a center again in the 2024 offseason after releasing Mason Cole. Graham Barton has gotten tons of buzz as a potential Steelers draft pick at center, but, like Green did, he has limited college experience at the position. Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo says it's time for fans to forget the failed Green experiment when it comes to talking about Barton. 

Green started 15 games at center for the team in the 2021 season before suffering a calf injury that held him out of the team's final two games. Green had limited experience at the position in college, having played just three games in the shortened 2020 season there. Green admitted that he wasn't comfortable there. The team experimented with him at guard and fullback, before he was dealt to the Houston Texans. 

Fittipaldo hosted his weekly chat on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's website and pleaded with readers to stop comparing Barton, who played five games at center for Duke in 2020 before moving to left tackle, to Green. While the worry of taking a chance on a player who hasn't played the position in four years is valid, Fittipaldo said the two are very different. 

"Green was a third-round pick and it's looking like Barton is a first-rounder," he wrote. "So, let's not compare them."

Barton was a four-year starter for the Blue Devils. He started in 39 of 40 career games. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com labeled Barton as a first-round pick in his write-up. He wrote that Barton's mix of technique, toughness, and athleticism will make him an early starter with Pro Bowl potential.  

Green started his redshirt freshman year as a defensive lineman before transitioning to the other side. He made 12 starts at left guard in 2018. He remained at guard for 12 games in the following season. In 2019, he started 12 games at guard and played one game at center. In his final year, he played three games of center and the other five at guard. Zierlein wrote that Green had the potential to be a starter at the NFL level. 

Steelers Shouldn't Need To Agonize Over Barton Making The Switch To Center

While Steelers fans seem incredibly haunted by how the Green experiment failed in one season and had the rug pulled out, Fittipaldo isn't. He said that lots of linemen change positions and for talented players, it's not that big a deal. 

Some of the Steelers' top centers made position changes, and it worked out just fine for them. Mike Webster played guard in his first season in Pittsburgh before moving to center. Dermontti Dawson was also a guard before establishing himself as a Hall of Fame center. Pouncey started his collegiate career as a defensive lineman before playing guard and center. 

While it didn't work out for Green at center, Pittsburgh has a history of moving players from other positions on the line to the middle and having success. It doesn't guarantee that Barton can do it, but as Fittipaldo points out he's already established himself as a top prospect, and having his kind of talent helps. 

Pittsburgh sent Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith to Barton's pro day at Duke and hosted him for a visit. They're doing their homework on him. If they find in their research that they don't think he can make the transition, they hopefully won't use a premium draft pick on him. If they think he's got the traits to be their next center for the future, there's a good chance he's getting a call from the 412 area code on draft night. 

Do you agree with Fittipaldo that it's time to stop comparing Barton and Green?