Creed Humphrey Could be a Perfect Blend of Size and Athleticism

Nick Sirianni saw up close just how important a center is to a team with the 6-4, 307-pound Ryan Kelly as one of the cornerstones on the Indianapolis Colts offensive line.

The new Eagles coach is inheriting one of the best in the business at that position with Jason Kelce, who makes up for his somewhat smaller frame of 6-3, 295 with a freakish athletic skillset.

Perhaps Oklahoma’s Creed Humphrey is the perfect blend of size and athleticism.

Humphrey, who is close to 6-5 and weighs 312 pounds, certainly showed that blend during the Sooners’ Pro Day on Friday morning.

“It’s one of the more impressive individual pro day workouts that I’ve seen,” said Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley. “He’s a great athlete. When you see a center vertical jump 33 inches, run, and move the way he has, it’s kind of hard to believe he’s a center honestly watching him.”

Humphrey, who is a three-year starter for head coach Lincoln Riley and two-time captain posted these numbers:

Broad jump: 11-2

Vertical: 33

40-yard dash 5.09

20-yard shuttle: 4.46

3-cone drill: 7.54

Bench press: 29 reps

“I was excited about it,” said Humphrey. “At Oklahoma, I was never asked to do a ton athletically. We’re a heavy gap-scheme team. I’m blocking back a ton, so it was good for me to go out there and show my athleticism. I was pretty happy with what I did. There were a couple of things I could’ve done a little better, but I was pretty happy overall.

“(Friday) was really just about proving what all I can do. I have a ton of film out there, so teams have a good idea of what I can do. I really just looked at it like coming out here, having fun, moving around, and having fun with it. It was good for me to come out here and show how athletic I actually am. I definitely think it caught a few people by surprise.”

At some point, the Eagles are going to need to find Kelce’s replacement.

Maybe he is already on the roster in the form of Nate Herbig or Luke Juriga, but Isaac Seumalo is probably too far down the road as the left guard to make a change.

Maybe the Eagles look at a center in this spring’s draft, where there are several that would fit the bill, including Humphrey, who is a three-year starter and a team captain the last two years, an honor voted on by teammates.

“Centers have become more valuable in the last couple of years,” said Riley. “You’ve seen more centers getting drafted higher. If you were going to name the top 10 defensive linemen in the league, a lot of them are inside guys. Arguably the best player in the entire league is an inside guy (Aaron Donald).

“Not that centers or guards have ever been bad athletes at that level, but if you’re playing against some of the best, you better have some of your best in there too, so I think the price tag and the priority of getting really good interior offensive linemen have maybe gone up in my opinion.

“I think a guy that’s a talent like his, I think he’s got a shot to be drafted really high and I think kind of the trend of the league will certainly help him with that.”

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s EagleMaven. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.

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