Great centers aren’t just among the most underrated players in the NFL—they also have among the most difficult jobs in the league every week. Depending on the opponent, your average NFL center must either deal with an array of linebacker blitzes and end-tackle stunts, or hold the point in base fronts against interior linemen that outweigh them by a good 30-40 pounds.
To avoid getting thrown around and outwitted, the best centers combine an indispensable combination of intelligence and technique. The intelligence is often important, as centers are most often tasked with making pre-snap line calls to counter defensive adjustments. Imagine playing a constant game of cat and mouse with the league’s best defenders at the same time you’re wrestling with the best big athletes around, and you get a sense of how tough it is to be truly great at this position.
10. J.C. Tretter | 9. Brandon Linder | 8. David Andrews | 7. Cody Whitehair | 6. Maurkice Pouncey | 5. Alex Mack | 4. Mitch Morse | 3. Ryan Kelly | 2. Rodney Hudson | 1. Jason Kelce
Here are the 11 best centers heading into the 2019 season.
11. Matt Paradis, Carolina Panthers
The Panthers needed a new plan after longtime center Ryan Kalil announced his retirement, and they went all-in on Paradis with a three-year, $27 million contract. Paradis is recovering from a broken right fibula that cost him seven games in 2018, but when healthy, the Boise State alum has proven to be a top-flight center, especially when it comes to line calls and pass protection. Last season for the Broncos, he allowed just one sack and five total pressures in 569 snaps. Though Denver’s quarterback situation has been a complete mess over the last few seasons, Paradis was a rare bastion of consistency in that offense.
Other Top 11 lists: Guards | Offensive tackles | Edge defenders | Interior defensive linemen | Linebackers | Safeties | Outside cornerbacks | Slot defenders
Paradis will lose one-on-one strength battles from time to time, which is the only reason he’s not higher on this list—at 6’3” and 300 pounds, he’s not the prime example of a strength-based player. But he does use leverage to his advantage, and he’s great when it comes to moves that require quickness and agility—everything from combo blocks to the second level to sweeps and pulls.
10. J.C. Tretter, Cleveland Browns
Tretter had a couple of really good years as a rotational center for the Packers, so it wasn’t a big surprise when the Browns made a more full-time commitment to his talent with a three-year, $16.75 million contract before the 2017 season. He’s been one of the league’s best bargains at his position over the last two years as the Browns have built a top-level offense. In 2018, he allowed two sacks, one quarterback hit, and 11 quarterback hurries in 1,091 snaps.
Tremendously agile at 6’4” and 307 pounds, Tretter gets into his pass sets as you’d expect from an offensive tackle—quickly, consistently, and with his head on a swivel to help to either side. He can pick up unpredictable defenders against blitzes and stunts, and as a run blocker, he keeps a low pad level and high leg drive to overcome any inherent strength issues.
9. Brandon Linder, Jacksonville Jaguars
When Linder was lost for the 2018 season to a knee injury in November, it was yet another domino falling in a season that saw several Jaguars offensive linemen dealing with various ailments. But when he was on the field, Linder was among the league’s best centers, allowing just one sack and seven total pressures in 507 snaps.
Jacksonville obviously invested a lot in Linder when they signed the former third-round pick to a six-year, $52.4 million contract in 2017, extending his time with the team into the next millennium. He’s been a perfect fit for the team’s preferred run-heavy style with his power-blocking, in which he uses body weight and leverage to maul opposing defenders all over the place. And in pass protection, Linder uses his upper-body strength and wingspan to keep defenders out of the pocket at a very high level.
8. David Andrews, New England Patriots
On the way to yet another Lombardi Trophy for the Pats, Andrews had by far the most snaps of any center in the NFL last season—1,355, with the Rams’ John Sullivan second at 1,262—and he allowed just two sacks, five quarterback hits, and 13 quarterback hits in all those reps. Andrews is helped along by New England’s quick passing game, but he’s also responsible for line calls in one of the league’s most complicated and disciplined offenses. And as much as he was assisted by the marvelous play of guards Shaq Mason and Joe Thuney, Andrews is an estimable blocker in his own right.
At 6’3” and 300 pounds, Andrews isn’t the strongest center in the league, but as one would expect from a guy coached by Dante Scarnecchia, he’s as assignment-correct and technique-perfect as you’d like. Even the game’s most gifted interior defensive linemen can be in for frustrating days against Andrews because he understands how to use leverage against them, and just when they think they’re going to get to Tom Brady, Andrews has an answer to move them out of the pocket.
7. Cody Whitehair, Chicago Bears
Selected in the second round in the 2016 draft out of Kansas State, Whitehair was a necessary star in a Bears offensive line under construction since his rookie season—and in 3,112 career snaps, he’s allowed just four sacks and 51 total pressures. Last season, he allowed no sacks, no quarterback hits, and 11 quarterback hurries in 1,139 total snaps. This is especially impressive in an offense with a quarterback in Mitchell Trubisky who’s still learning things at the NFL level.
One of the most consistently agile centers in the NFL from the line of scrimmage to the second level, Whitehair takes on defensive tackles who outweigh him by 30 pounds with tight leverage and a serious nasty streak. And when he’s asked to target linebackers and safeties in space, he’s great at hitting his target, and blowing those defenders out of the way, creating bigger gaps. And as a pass-protector, Whitehair gets in his stance quickly, extending his hands with power to force pass-rushers to rethink their approaches. Head coach Matt Nagy has discussed moving Whitehair to guard, but so far through his career, Whitehair has proven to be one of the NFL’s best centers.
6. Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh Steelers
Selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2010 draft out of Florida, Pouncey was a stud at the NFL level from his rookie season, and his seven career Pro Bowl nods and two First-Team All-Pro nominations speak to his consistency over time. 2018 was more of the same—Pouncey has never allowed more than three sacks in a season, and last season, he gave up two sacks and 18 total pressures.
Pouncey is very quick off the snap, and he uses that quickness to throw the first punch in the run game and establish a strong base in pass protection. A technician with a solid nasty streak, he’s perfectly capable of piledriving defensive tackles off their perches, creating easy gaps for Pittsburgh’s running backs. He takes that aggressive demeanor when protecting Ben Roethlisberger—Pouncey foils enemy defenders with quick, attacking hands, and he’s strong enough to hold stronger linemen up and away from his quarterback.
5. Alex Mack, Atlanta Falcons
When the Falcons signed former Browns center Alex Mack to a five-year, $45 million contract in 2016, there was a period of adjustment when Mack struggled to find his way in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, which required more quickness and agility than root strength at the line. But he recovered nicely, and he’s been a stalwart for the team ever since, and through serious changes in the Falcons’ offense. In 2018, he allowed three sacks, four quarterback hits, and seven hurries, doing his thing inside guard tandem in need of improvement.
Mack doesn’t do anything fancy on the field, but he’s on point most of the time. When he gets his hands on a defender’s numbers, he has the strength and drive to push that defender wherever he wants him to go. And though he’s not the most agile center in the league, he has a solid backpedal, and he knows how to use his hands in pass protection. Able to impose his will at the line of scrimmage against 340-pound nose tackles and at the second level against quick linebackers, Mack retains his status as one of the league’s most technically correct centers.
4. Mitch Morse, Buffalo Bills
Morse’s injury history—he missed five games in 2018 and nine the year before—may be why the Chiefs decided to let him test the free-agent market. The Bills had no such qualms, signing the 2015 second-round pick and Missouri alum to a four-year, $44.5 million deal with $20.4 million guaranteed in March. The deal makes Morse one of the highest-paid center in the league, and he’s earned that designation. Last season, in 811 snaps, he allowed no sacks and five total pressures, and this sack of Patrick Mahomes wasn’t exactly his fault.
Morse is tall for a center at 6’6” and 305 pounds, but he manages to maintain power through the block with low pad level, optimal leg drive, and excellent overall technique. Even when he does get bent back by stronger interior defenders, he has the upper-body strength and flexibility to recover. In a running game that experienced a lot of transition after the Kareem Hunt fiasco, Morse was a stalwart in everything from taking on nose tackles head-up to moving outside the tackle on sweeps, and up to linebacker depth to hit his targets. The Chiefs may have saved a lot of money letting Morse go, but they’ll miss his talent.
3. Ryan Kelly, Indianapolis Colts
Kelly has missed 13 games in the last two seasons because of injuries, and that may be the only reason he isn’t higher on the list. In any case, the 18th overall pick in the 2016 draft out of Alabama has been a highly-touted player since his rookie season, and for good reason. In 885 snaps in the 2018 season, Kelly allowed one sack, three quarterback hits, and eight quarterback hurries, and he put up strong performances when asked to turn on the power in the running game.
Kelly has the footwork and backpedal you’d expect from a tackle, and he flares out with a wide base when he’s dealing with interior pass-rushers. He’s also more than capable of peeling off and helping his guards against the pass rush—not that Quenton Nelson and Mark Glowinski need a lot of help. Dominant at the line of scrimmage and when he kicks up to linebacker depth, Kelly has the potential to be the best center in the league. The Colts pushed the button on his fifth-year option, and if he stays healthy, Kelly will be an integral cog in Indy’s high-powered offense.
2. Rodney Hudson, Oakland Raiders
Throughout his time with the Chiefs and Raiders, Hudson has put up more than enough tape to establish himself as the premier power center in the league. At 6’2” ad 300 pounds, Hudson may be “undersized,” but he certainly doesn’t present himself like that on the field. And he’s an outstanding pass-protector as well, allowing just five total pressures and no sacks in 1.042 total snaps last season.
With his freakish upper-body strength, Hudson is expert at getting his hands on any defender, and he can throw guys around who outweigh him by 30-40 pounds. And with his quick feet, he can transition seamlessly from defender to defender in zone schemes. In pass protection, he backpedals quickly, keeps his head on a swivel, and strikes out against interior defenders with power and accuracy. Hudson is a free agent after the 2019 season, and the Raiders would be wise to start contract negotiations sooner than later.
1. Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles
A sixth-round pick in the 2011 draft out of Cincinnati, Kelce is one of the best draft bargains of his era. He’s allowed just 11 sacks and 138 total pressures in 7,902 career snaps, and over the last few seasons, he’s transformed himself from a mobile, agile center with some strength issues into the most complete center in the NFL. In 2018, he allowed no sacks and just 11 total pressures in 1,153 snaps.
Kelce has always been tremendous when on the move—he targets at the second level exceptionally well, and he gets on the hoof on sweeps and pulls with quickness and a consistent pad level. What’s been different in recent seasons is how he uses leg drive, a low pad level, and active arms to work bigger defenders out of the play—and to the ground, if necessary. Kelce’s career is an optimal example of how a player can come into the NFL with a few attributes and over time, become a total player—and the best player at his position.
