Seahawks Training Camp Battles: Center

As training camp nears for the Seattle Seahawks, the battle at center is one of the most wide open and compelling positions on the entire roster.

With training camp rapidly approaching, it is time to begin handicapping the roster battles that will shape the Seattle Seahawks this season. The first that we will look at, and arguably the most compelling of them al, is at center.

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Entering training camp, there are four players competing for 2 roster spots. It is easy to see three of the four eventually winning the starting job. It is also easy to make a case that any of these players could miss the roster entirely.

Here is how things stack up at center as training camp beings:

1. Justin Britt

The leader of this race headed into training camp has to be the former offensive tackle who was converted to a guard and is now at this third position in three years. This isn’t because he’s the best players at the position though.

Cable is notorious for playing favorites, and he loves Britt more than Britt’s on-field performance should suggest. Cable gave him all the first-team reps in OTAs and minicamp and said that the position move was about getting the best five guys on the field.

Britts multiple position changes are actually a plus for him here. His experience at both tackle and guard, and on both sides of the line, give him a perspective that’ll be valuable as a center. Britt knows the scheme better than another else on the line, and should be able to get everyone aligned properly pre-snap.

Britt also has some physical characteristics that give him an advantage here. His long arms and straight ahead strength are both far better than the competition. Britt might be terrible when asked to move laterally, but he’s built to succeed when blocking straight ahead against a nose tackle.

2. Patrick Lewis

While I could be wrong about this, I think most Seahawks fans would be happy to have this job be Patrick Lewis’ job to lose as training camp begins. Lewis played well in each of the last two seasons, and the offense was drastically improved once he took over last season.

There is also a reason why Lewis wasn’t even apart of the competition for the starting job last year. He’s undersized and not a great athlete. He doesn’t fit the prototype that Cable looks for.

Overall, he’s viewed as a low-ceiling guy who will never be dominant. The Seahawks seem perfectly content having him as a fallback option, but Lewis is never going to stop Seattle from looking for an upgrade.

3. Joey Hunt

Hunt’s selection in the draft this year was a bit perplexing. He is quite the opposite of what Cable typically looks for in offenses linemen. He’s short, light, has short arms, and is clearly a pass blocker more than a run blocker.

Hunt has that “student of the game” football IQ that teams want in a center. It will certainly give him a chance to make the roster as a rookie, but his lack of ideal physical characteristics does make it unlikely that he’ll end up as the starter right away.

4. Kristjan Sokoli

The wildcard in this race is the former defensive lineman out of Buffalo. Sokoli isn’t typically in the discussion when people talk about center at the moment, but could play his way into the discussion fairly quickly once camp begins.

If you adjust for position, he is the best athlete the NFL has seen in the last 17 years (maybe longer, but that is all the data that is available). His body type and measurables are exactly what line coaches dream about at the position.

The problem is that Sokoli is still absolutely raw in terms of his technique, knowledge and experience. Basically, he is the exact opposite of Hunt in many ways.

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At some point he’s going to have to get on the field and get some in-game snaps. If the Seahawks commit to getting Sokoli a lot of playing time in the preseason, it’ll be a sign that he’s slowly working his way up the depth chart.

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