Cowboys draft 2024: Comparing Jackson Powers-Johnson and Graham Barton
Which center prospect would be best for Dallas in your opinion?
The Cowboys are inching closer every day to being on the clock with the 24th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, yet there is still zero clarity on what they might do with that selection. Offensive line seems to be the most likely position they’ll target, but even then there are questions as to whether they’ll look for a left tackle or land a center.
If it’s the latter, there are two center prospects that have emerged as popular fits for the Cowboys: Duke’s Graham Barton and Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson. Both players have landed in Dallas in a handful of mock drafts, and it’s entirely possible that the Cowboys could find themselves picking between the two when they’re on the clock Thursday night. But which one is better? Let’s take a look.
Graham Barton
Barton’s prospect profile requires some projection, as he played left tackle the last three years for the Blue Devils. He played center as a freshman and earned freshman All-American honors as a result, but that was quite some time ago and also came in a Covid-shortened season in which Barton played just six games.
Nearly every draft analyst projects Barton to move inside in the NFL, with most believing he’s best suited for the center position. That makes Barton a tricky player to rank. He has all of the traits to succeed at center, but can a team afford to invest a premium draft pick in a player who hasn’t played the position in three years and, even when he did, had a small sample size to work with?
Barton’s college production was modest, with good-not-great grades in both run blocking and pass blocking from Pro Football Focus. Of course, those grades also came with Barton playing left tackle, and it seems unlikely Dallas would draft Barton to play that spot. Athletically, Barton was wildly impressive.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had this to say about Barton, who he ranked as the best center in the draft:
As a run blocker, Barton plays with the athletic control, core strength and stubborn mentality to execute his assignments. His movements and finishing skills also translate to pass protection, but he will struggle cutting off NFL speed and needs to improve his punch timing to stay ahead of schedule (and avoid penalties).
Overall, Barton will have adjustments to make as he moves inside, but he has athletic feet and strong hands and works hard to stay attached to blocks through the whistle. He projects as an above-average NFL starter at guard or center (reminiscent of Alijah Vera-Tucker).
Jackson Powers-Johnson
Powers-Johnson has spent the majority of the draft season as the top center, but Barton’s stock has surged in the past month. Still, it’s easy to see why Powers-Johnson had so much hype: no starting center ranked better in the three main PFF grades than Powers-Johnson in 2023, and he did so for a very talented Oregon offense.
One of the concerns, though, is that 2023 was the first season in which Powers-Johnson had been a starter. He started one game at right guard in 2022 and also started two games, one at each guard spot, in 2021. That’s a small sample size on which to evaluate Powers-Johnson, but his 2023 film is enough to make any offensive line coach salivate.
There are also some medical questions to be answered with Powers-Johnson. He had several injuries in college, including groin and hip issues on top of multiple concussions. There have also been whispers that some teams are taking him off their draft board due to medical concerns, though nothing concrete has been reported. Of course, the Cowboys have rarely shied away from draft prospects with injury histories.
Brugler had this to say about Powers-Johnson:
A multi-sport athlete growing up, Powers-Johnson plays light on his feet in pass protection and as a run blocker, with the natural movement skills and stability at contact to torque and fend off defenders. With his contact balance and composure, he rarely appears overwhelmed on tape, although the defensive line play in the NFL is a giant leap ahead of what he saw in the Pac 12.
Overall, Powers-Johnson’s inexperience is reflected in his technique, but he offers a fantastic combination of size, athleticism and toughness, with the skill set that translates to both center and guard. His game reminds me of Ryan Kelly, who won the Rimington Award at Alabama before becoming a first-round pick in 2016.
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