3 players who could fix the Seahawks center problem in 2022
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks need to fix their offensive line. Three of the presumed starters heading into the 2021 season are free agents this offseason – left tackle Duane Brown, center Ethan Pocic and right tackle Brandon Shell. Brown was pretty good in 2021 but only in the second half of the season. The same can be said for Pocic. Shell simply gets hurt too much.
Overall, however, Seattle’s offensive line underwhelmed once again this past season and by the time they figured out how to gel and be good, the season was lost. Not only that, but undrafted rookie free agent Jake Curhan was starting at right tackle and was a much better run blocker than Shell was when Shell was healthy.
Center, however, has been an issue in Seattle ever since the Seahawks traded Max Unger to the New Orleans Saints for Jimmy Graham in 2015. Justin Britt started at center in 2016 and wasn’t terrible but he digressed over the next three years and Seattle decided to move on.
Seattle Seahawks need to find a long-term answer at center beginning this offseason
Pocic has tried to start at center over the last couple of years but he can’t consistently stay healthy and is inconsistent when he does play. Pocic needs to be replaced. Seattle needs to stop finding stopgaps at center and find a long-term replacement.
Doing so would make Russell Wilson happy as he would get his less. It would also make the offense run more smoothly. The center normally calls out offensive line alignments once at the line of scrimmage. So a great center isn’t big and strong, he’s usually pretty smart too.
So what should Seattle do to address its constant problem at center? Maybe adding one of the three players that follow could be the answer.