Seahawks still searching for their 2020 center after mock practice

The Seahawks have made a bunch of changes along their offensive line this past offseason. One question still to be answered: Who is going to be the center?

The Seahawks signed former Steelers backup B.J. Finney to play center in 2020. Finney wasn’t guaranteed to become the starter, but Seattle did let Justin Britt walk away this offseason and Finney has been decent in limited time. Now, Finney is battling for the starting center position with Ethan Pocic.

Pocic has been with the Seahawks for three seasons. In his rookie year, he struggled but was also showed potential that maybe in year two or three he could start at guard. The issue with Pocic is that he wasn’t strong enough to hold up against NFL defensive linemen. But he doesn’t seem to have gotten any stronger the last couple of seasons.

After playing in all 16 games as a rookie, Pocic has dealt with injuries. But the fact that he played in only four games last year for the Seahawks might speak more to his ineffectiveness than his health. Pocic did not play enough for him to really record a grade with Pro Football Focus.

PFF grades

Britt graded at 62, according to Pro Football Focus. This was the 25th highest-graded center for 2019. He was only 45.7 for run-blocking but 66.2 for pass-blocking, however. Britt’s pass-blocking grade was 15th-best among all centers. Britt is still a free agent as he was injured in week 8 of 2019 and missed the rest of the year.

Finney was the 30th highest-graded center in 2019 but in about 130 fewer snaps than Britt. He was Britt’s opposite when he came to pass-blocking (72.0) and run-blocking (52.1), though. Finney was the 15th-best center at pass-blocking.

So the biggest question on the Seahawks offensive line heading into 2020 is who plays center for them and who makes the changes at the line of scrimmage for the line. This is the center’s job. Of course, this means center is extremely important because the wrong line calls mean that defenses get through the line and hit Russell Wilson more. Keeping Russell Wilson healthy is of utmost importance to Seahawks success.

After the Seahawks mock scrimmage on Saturday, who is going to start at center for the team in 2020 is still in question. Coach Pete Carroll said a decision will be made soon on who will and that decision could be one of the turning points in the season.