Evan Brown Aiming to 'Continue Continuity' For Ascending Seahawks' O-Line
RENTON, Wash. - For the better part of a decade, the center position has been a revolving door for the Seattle Seahawks, including three different starters in the regular season opener over the previous three seasons.
Continuing to play musical chairs at one of the most important offensive positions, Seattle will roll into yet another new season with a different starter snapping to quarterback Geno Smith after Austin Blythe retired in March. In his stead, the franchise will turn to veteran Evan Brown, who quickly seized hold of the job early in training camp, turning an expected competition against rookie Olu Oluwatimi into a bit of a one-sided affair.
Since signing a one-year deal to join the Seahawks back in March, Brown has worked diligently to earn the trust of quarterback Geno Smith and his line mates, spending extensive time bonding with them on and off the field. With the regular season opener now just a week away, those efforts have paid dividends as the fifth-year pro has emerged as a viable leader for the offensive line, which he hopes will allow the group to not only not miss a beat, but take a big step forward from a year ago.
"I’m just trying to continue the continuity of the group," Brown told reporters following Thursday's practice. "We’ve got to be a group that’s together and that starts with me and my communication making sure we’re all on the right page. That’s what I’m doing and I think it’s gone well.”
Learning an offense on the fly isn't necessarily new for Brown, who came into the NFL as an undrafted rookie out of SMU in 2018 with the Giants and spent the entirety of his rookie season inactive as a healthy scratch. The following year, he bounced around with multiple teams, seeing action in four games with the Giants and Dolphins. He continued to hop around the league the following season, seeing limited game action for the Browns and Lions with new playbooks to master rapid fire.
In 2021, Brown finally caught his big break when Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow went down with an injury and enjoyed his finest NFL season starting 12 games at center as the replacement, allowing just one sack and eight pressures in pass protection. Last season, Brown started 12 games for Detroit, but all but one of those starts came at left guard, a position he had barely played dating back to his college career.
Entering free agency for the first time in his career, the 26-year old Brown worked with his agent to find the right fit for him to compete for a starting job at center. With Ragnow still under contract with the Lions, staying put wasn't an ideal option, and after testing the market, the chance to play what he called his "natural" position with the Seahawks was too good not to pass up.
"It’s something I’ve played more," Brown said of his desire to play center, which served as a primary reason for choosing to go to Seattle. "I’ve taken countless more reps. If I were to advertise myself, I would say I’m a center who can play guard. It just feels natural to me. It feels comfortable.”
Acclimating well to his latest surroundings, Brown quickly connected with Smith, who broke out in his first year as Seattle's starter to earn Comeback Player of the Year honors with 30 touchdowns and a 69.8 percent completion rate. After platooning days with the first-team offense in the first week of camp, he started to distance himself from Oluwatimi and see more time snapping to Smith, earning the start in the team's preseason opener and not looking back.
Over the past month, the two veterans have hit it off from the outset, bonding thanks to their starting experience and football acumen as well as the adversity they each overcame to succeed in the league. Between the lines, Smith's blossoming leadership coupled with his full command of the offense and decipher opposing schemes has benefited Brown immensely, further easing his transition by helping smooth out the communication process.
“Hell of a guy. His football IQ, he’s seen a lot of ball in his day and a lot of different defenses," Brown said of Smith. "He sees the whole picture very well and does a great job of communicating with us before a play snaps; on any checks and changes he needs to do. Just off the field, he’s a leader second-to-none. His leadership abilities from what I’ve heard have really grown and he’s taken on that true role and he’s been fantastic.”
Earning the starting job on the field, Evan Brown played well for the Seattle Seahawks in the preseason, providing optimism he can be an upgrade in the middle of the offensive line.
In the trenches, Brown hasn't had any issue earning the respect of his peers stepping into Blythe's shoes as a new starter in the middle since he first reported to duty during OTAs in the spring.
From a communication standpoint, Brown's extensive experience playing center allowed him to hit the ground running making line calls, handling everything from identifying defensive fronts to personnel groupings to potential blitzers. Not afraid to be vocal, he understands the importance of speaking up and ensuring all of his teammates, including tight ends on run plays, are on the same page.
After the snap, Brown handled his duties well in limited preseason snaps, allowing just a single pressure on 19 pass protection snaps and performing well in the run game. During a 22-14 win over the Cowboys, he executed a perfect reach block on defensive tackle Mazi Smith, sealing the defender back inside to create a crease for running back Zach Charbonnet to rip off a 29-yard run into opposing territory.
As for the rest of his new teammates, Brown feels good about the progress made by the group as a whole, particularly lauding the growth of second-year tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas. Watching how they played starting 16 regular season games together as rookies, he sees a night and day difference in comparison looking at them now.
“I think really one thing I’ve noticed is watching film from games last year from the two tackles obviously both being rookies last year and then the development and the progress they’ve made over what you see from game film last year to what you see during training camp this year," Brown remarked. "I think they’ve taken huge steps."
With Cross, Lucas, and fourth-year guard Damien Lewis returning from last year's playoff squad, the Seahawks have a quality young foundation in place up front. With zero expectations in 2022, the offensive line protected Smith far better than anticipated and helped running back Ken Walker III rush for over 1,000 yards to finish second in Offensive Rookie of the Year balloting.
Yet, for Seattle to reach its goals of competing for NFC West and Super Bowl championships, the group still must take it up a notch or two. Aside from Cross and Lucas taking the huge step forward Brown envisions and right guard Phil Haynes continuing his ascent replacing Gabe Jackson, they need the veteran newcomer to prove himself as a significant upgrade over Blythe for the offensive line to reach its full potential.
If he can build off a strong start, one year after his Lions helped vault the Seahawks into the playoffs in the final week of the season, Brown should be set to make his first appearance in the postseason. In the process, the franchise may finally end the center carousel that has ran non-stop since the days of Max Unger.
