2021 NFL Free Agency: Best Available Centers
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Free agency officially kicked off with the start of the league-year on March 17. Here is a look at the Green Bay Packers' situation at center and the best available free agents.
The Packers’ Picture
Packers Need (1-10 scale): 7. With Corey Linsley having signed with the Chargers in free agency, the Packers will be breaking in a new center for the first time since Linsley replaced injured J.C. Tretter for the opener in 2014. There are in-house options. Lucas Patrick has made 21 career starts, with 15 of those at guard in 2020. Elgton Jenkins might be their best option, but he’s also their do-it-all standout and you probably don’t want to be uprooting your center in the middle of a game. Jake Hanson, a sixth-round pick last year, started 49 games at center at Oregon. He didn’t have a good rookie training camp but that was a long time ago.
Packers Free Agents: Linsley played in only 70.6 percent of the offensive snaps due to knee and back injuries but was named the first-team All-Pro center. Take PFF’s grades for what they’re worth but he was by far the highest-rated center in the league in 2020. He is the perfect example of what happens when talent meets experience. An understated leader, Linsley simply went about his business. However, the Packers have cap problems, Linsley will turn 30 before training camp and he missed significant playing time this past season. All three of those factors conspired against his return.
Top Nine Unrestricted Free Agents
SIGNED WITH L.A. CHARGERS: Corey Linsley, Green Bay: Linsley was superb. PFF charged him with one sack. Among the league’s 32 starting centers, he ranked second in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries allowed per pass-protecting snap. Showing his two-way dominance, Sports Info Solutions charged him with no sacks or stuffs (a tackle at or behind the line vs. the run). Among centers with 500-plus snaps, he had the third-lowest blown-block rate at 0.6 percent, according to SIS. He wasn’t penalized, either. That's why the Chargers made him the highest-paid center in the NFL.
Austin Reiter, Kansas City: A seventh-round pick by Washington in 2015, he failed to make its roster and started just once for Cleveland in 2016 and 2017. Reiter has found a home in Kansas City, though, with 28 starts the past two seasons. It was Reiter, not Linsley, who was No. 1 among centers in PFF’s pass-protection metric. On running plays, SIS charged him with a blown-block rate of 0.4 percent and blamed him for zero stuffs. He was found guilty of one penalty – down sharply from seven in 2019.
RE-SIGNED: David Andrews, New England: An undrafted free agent in 2015, Andrews started 69 of a possible 80 games in 2015 through 2018 and 2020. He missed the 2019 season after blood clots were found in his lungs. In 12 starts in 2020, he gave up two sacks and finished 20th in PFF’s pass-protection metric. On running plays, SIS charged him with a blown-block rate of 1.4 percent and blamed him for one stuff. He was found guilty of one penalty.
SIGNED BY SAN FRANCISCO: Alex Mack, Atlanta: Once upon a time, Mack was the best in the business. He was voted to the NFL’s all-2010s team after qualifying for six Pro Bowls. He’s as durable as can be. Other than missing most of the 2014 season, he’s started all but two games in his other 11 seasons. However, Father Time has caught up to the 35-year-old. He finished 24th among centers in PFF’s pass-protection metric. On running plays, SIS charged him with a blown-block rate of 2.7 percent and blamed him for two stuffs. He was found guilty of two penalties, down from a career-worst seven in 2019.
Austin Blythe, L.A. Rams: A seventh-round pick in 2015, Blythe started all but one game for the Rams the past three seasons. He started at right guard in 2018 and the start of 2019 and at center for the second half of 2019 and all of 2020. He finished 27th in PFF’s pass-protection metric in 2020. On running plays, SIS charged him with a blown-block rate of 2.5 percent and blamed him for six stuffs. He was found guilty of one penalty. But, if he were to wind up in Green Bay, he knows the scheme.
SIGNED BY LAS VEGAS: Nick Martin, Houston: A second-round pick in 2016, he inked a three-year, $33 million extension before the 2019 season but was released last week. Martin gave up only one sack but finished a so-so No. 17 in PFF’s pass-protection metric. His pressure count went from 15 on 748 pass-protecting snaps in 2019 to 23 in 689 in 2020. On running plays, SIS charged him with a blown-block rate of 3.6 percent and blamed him for seven stuffs. He was found guilty of four penalties. The penalties and stuffs were the worst of his career.
SIGNED BY NEW ENGLAND: Ted Karras, Miami: A sixth-round pick in 2016 by New England, Karras started five games in his first three seasons but 15 times at center for the Patriots in 2019 and all 16 games for the Dolphins in 2020. He finished a solid sixth in PFF’s pass-protection metric. On running plays, SIS charged him with a blown-block rate of 3.6 percent and blamed him for four stuffs. He was found guilty of two penalties.
RE-SIGNED: Ethan Pocic, Seattle: A second-round pick in 2017, Pocic did nothing to solve the Seahawks’ long-standing problems on the offensive line. He started 30 games, including a career-high 14 in 2020 after missing 18 games due to injuries the previous two years. He finished No. 15 in PFF’s pass-protection metric. On running plays, SIS charged him with a blown-block rate of 2.3 percent and blamed him for just one stuff. He was found guilty of three penalties.
SIGNED BY MIAMI: Matt Skura, Baltimore: An undrafted free agent in 2016 who spent his rookie year on the practice squad, Skura started 51 games the past four seasons. He missed the final five games of the 2019 season with a knee injury and was benched in November for bad snaps. He finished No. 15 in PFF’s pass-protection metric. On running plays, SIS charged him with a blown-block rate of 2.6 percent and blamed him for four stuffs. He was found guilty of three penalties. The Packers do have a history of acquiring players from Baltimore.
