Seahawks Plans at Center: Where Does Evan Brown Fit?
While the move has flown under the radar given the other notable signings made by the Seattle Seahawks this month, the team made an intriguing addition to potentially fill a major area of need by reeling in versatile offensive lineman Evan Brown with a one-year deal.
In many ways, Brown stands out as a player with the type of DNA that general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll covet, starting with his career origins. Despite starting nearly 50 games at center for SMU, he didn't hear his name called in the 2018 NFL Draft, instead landing with the New York Giants as a priority undrafted free agent. Over the next two seasons, he bounced around with three teams, playing a grand total of 17 special teams snaps in five games.
But while Brown's career didn't start off as hoped, he hung around and eventually earned a roster spot as a backup behind Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow in Detroit in 2021. Once Ragnow went down, the ex-Mustangs standout seized his opportunity and performed at a high level in 13 starts at the pivot position, positioning himself to earn a starting spot at right guard last season.
Now with more than 20 NFL starts under his belt, Brown comes to Seattle with the capability of jumping into the starting lineup at multiple spots, and that positional flexibility stood out to the team's scouts watching him in preseason games. Shortly after the move was announced, however, while discussing the process that led to the signing on his weekly radio show via Seattle Sports 710, Schneider made it pretty clear the organization has one position in mind for him.
“With Evan Brown, it was really cool. We had our free agent meetings at the end of December/early-January, and he was the guy that really stood out [our scouts] were really focused on,” Schneider remarked. “This is a guy that he’s been playing guard, but ideally he’s a center... So he can play both, but he’s really truly a center. It was pretty cool to be able to identify that guy and kind of watch the process go.”
Schneider's declaration shouldn't come as a surprise, as the Seahawks lost their starting center Austin Blythe to retirement earlier this month. Carroll and his coaching staff leaned heavily on Blythe for communications up front with two rookie tackles in Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas thrown into the fire as day one starters and his decision to hang up his cleats left a significant leadership void in the middle of a young offensive line.
As far as strengths are concerned, at least when he played center in 14 starts over the past two seasons, Brown has been a stalwart in pass protection and fared well against some tough matchups in the trenches. In 2021, per Pro Football Focus, he allowed only one sack and eight quarterback hits on 422 pass blocking snaps, grading out as the sixth-best pass protector (72.4) among qualified centers.
Sound technically, Brown's hands and feet work together well in unison, allowing him to stay engaged and mirror defenders effectively. A master at thwarting counters, he rarely allows pass rushers to slip by him with finesse moves and when he does, he has enough lateral quickness to recover and usually finds a way to wash the defender upfield away from the quarterback.
Playing with his head on a swivel, in part benefiting from his experiences playing multiple positions, Brown cleans up against twist and stunt calls. He doesn't get fooled often when opposing coordinators play games looking to manufacture pressure, passing off hard-slanting defensive tackles to pick up looping defenders crashing back inside with relative ease.
Where Brown has been a bit more vulnerable since coming into the league has been against bull rushes and power moves. This was particularly evident at guard last year when he took a step back yielding 22 pressures and a pair of sacks on 426 pass blocking snaps. Still, more times than not when initially put on skates by opposing power, he has found ways to set anchor and keep his quarterback upright.
In the run game, Brown has battled a bit more inconsistency over the past two seasons. Though he's not a mauler and won't knock defenders off the ball often, in contrast to Blythe's struggles a year ago, he rarely gets physically dominated off the snap and exhibits quality leverage to get underneath defender's pads to at least stalemate opponents. He also has good enough footwork and lateral mobility to reach and seal defenders on zone blocking concepts, giving him scheme flexibility.
Unlike in pass protection, Brown doesn't play with the same refinement using his hands to gain control of blocks at the point of attack and sustain them. He has a tendency to let his hands slide outside of the defender's frame, often going outside of their shoulder pads, which can lead to holding penalties or simply falling off of blocks, especially at the second level on more athletic linebackers and safeties.
While he isn't without flaws, bringing a veteran like Brown into the fold immediately gives the Seahawks a hedge at center at minimum, if not a long-term starting option to supplant Blythe. Only 26 years old, it's worth noting that he's still only played in 40 NFL regular season games with 23 starts and has plenty of room left to grow as he gains further experience.
On the flip side, with Seattle holding four picks in the first 52 selections and 10 picks total in the 2023 NFL Draft, the team has continued to be linked to top center prospects. Among those, the organization reportedly has been enamored by Minnesota's John Michael Schmitz, who starred at the Senior Bowl and likely will be the first player from a strong draft class at the position selected next month.
Away from Schmitz, other quality prospects such as Wisconsin's Joe Tippman, Ohio State's Luke Wypler, and Michigan's Olu Oluwatimi could be prime targets for the Seahawks on day two in the second or third round with early starter potential.
Thinking big picture, Brown's success in pass protection looks sustainable, as he didn't give up a pressure in two games at center last year after being a top-10 performer in 2021. While his run blocking isn't as polished, in some regards, his presence will be an upgrade over Blythe if he opens the season as a starter. Overall, at just $2.25 million for next season, he has the upside to be a major bargain and play his way into a lucrative multi-year contract next offseason.
At the same time, as a former undrafted signee who had to scratch and claw to stick on an NFL roster, Brown may not be far from reaching his ceiling. After infamously missing out on Chiefs center Creed Humphrey in the second round two drafts ago in favor of receiver Dee Eskridge, if Schneider has a chance to land a top prospect such as Schmitz and bring long-term security to the position, he would be wise not to pass up on the opportunity again.
Ultimately, what the Seahawks have truly afforded themselves by signing Brown is great flexibility. They don't have to force the issue drafting a center simply to fill a need and if the right player isn't available to them, they can comfortably move forward with the veteran for at least 2023 believing they upgraded the position. His arrival also gives the team another capable guard to push recently re-signed Phil Haynes if the team does wind up using a high selection on a center.
Most importantly, even assuming Seattle does draft a center, Brown's presence makes it that the incoming rookie won't simply be handed a starting job on a plate. Sticking to a core principle of Carroll's philosophy, the player will have to earn the gig and regardless of who winds up winning the competition, the offensive line should be better for it in the present and future.
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