4 position clashes to watch at Seattle Seahawks training camp in 2023

Seahawks center - Evan Brown vs. Olu Oluwatimi

Seattle needs to find a long-term good center. The last guy they had who 12s could count on every season was Max Unger and Unger left in the trade for Jimmy Graham in 2015. In 2022, Austin Blythe was the 33rd-highest-graded center in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). That doesn't sound too bad until one realizes there are only 32 NFL teams and each team only has one center on the field. Blythe's overall grade was 54.7. He allowed 3 sacks and 22 total pressures.

Evan Brown was a good center for the Detroit Lions in 2021. He allowed just 8 pressures and 1 sack. But Brown was flipped to right guard in 2022 when the Lions had a greater need at that spot after losing a player to injury. But while Brown was OK as a right guard, he isn't going to start at guard for the Seahawks in 2022 because Seattle already has two guys battling for that spot - Anthony Bradford and Phil Haynes - and Brown still wasn't good blocking in the run game.

Seattle likely got a draft day steal when they were able to take Oluwatimi in the fifth-round of the 2023 NFL draft. Oluwatimi won just about any award a center could receive in his final year of college and he is strong enough to play in the NFL right now. But having a veteran at center might be helpful early in the season because Brown would know what to expect from certain interior pass rushers.

The Brown versus Oluwatimi battle might go deep into the preseason and a starter might not be named until closer to Week 1. It will be interesting to see who gets the starts in the preseason games and who gets the majority of the snaps. Whoever plays best in Seattle's final preseason game might just be the starter once the regular season begins.