It’s June, and the end of the NFL offseason program is just around the corner, which has fans excited for players reporting for training camp at the end of July. For the Seattle Seahawks it will be the second training camp under head coach Mike Macdonald, with a new offensive coaching staff taking over and bringing in their system for a second year in a row.
Many are curious what the system Klint Kubiak puts on the field will look like, and in particular debate is raging about who exactly will get the starting nod on the interior of the offensive line. Left guard appears to be the only position in that group where first round pick Grey Zabel is the unquestioned starter, with center and right guard apparently up for grabs.
The debate largely centers around Olu Oluwatimi’s athleticism, or lack thereof, relative to Jalen Sundell, with some discussion as to whether Christian Haynes could factor into the competition if he is unable to supplant Anthony Bradford as the starter at right guard.
To fuel the flames of this debate, here are the athletic profiles of Oluwatimi, Sundell, and Haynes.
Athletic profiles for those mentioned as competing at center for 2025 Seahawks
Category
Oluwatimi
Sundell
Haynes
Category
Oluwatimi
Sundell
Haynes
Height
6024
6050
6026
Weight
309
301
317
Arm
32.75
33.125
33.5
40
5.38
5.19
5.03
20
3.05
2.9
2.91
10
1.79
1.77
1.75
Bench
29
26
25
Vertical
29
30.5
33
Broad
110
105
102
Shuttle
4.68
4.58
N/A
3-cone
7.58
7.63
N/A
To try and gain a better understanding of what new offensive line coach John Benton looks for at center, here is a list of who has started at center for the line Benton has coached in each season since 2006.
2006: Mike Flanagan (Houston Texans)
2007: Mike Flanagan (Houston Texans)
2008: Chris Myers (Houston Texans)
2009: Chris Myers (Houston Texans)
2010: Chris Myers (Houston Texans)
2011: Chris Myers (Houston Texans)
2012: Chris Myers (Houston Texans)
2013: Chris Myers (Houston Texans)
2014: Samson Satele (Miami Dolphins)
2015: Mike Pouncey (Miami Dolphins)
2016: N/A
2017: Daniel Kilgore (San Francisco 49ers)
2018: Weston Richburg (San Francisco 49ers)
2019: Weston Richburg (San Francisco 49ers)
2020: Hroniss Grasu (San Francisco 49ers)
2021: Connor McGovern (New York Jets)
2022: Connor McGovern (New York Jets)
2023: N/A
2024: Erik McCoy (New Orleans Saints)
And now, of course, to look at the athletic profiles of those players. In addition, in order to add a little extra flavor to the debate, whether or not the player was a guard in college who switched to center has also been included.
Starting centers for the offensive lines coached by John Benton
Category
Flanagan
Myers
Satele
Kilgore
Richburg
Grasu
McGovern
McCoy
Category
Flanagan
Myers
Satele
Kilgore
Richburg
Grasu
McGovern
McCoy
Height
6030
6045
6030
6032
6033
6030
6042
6037
Weight
303
300
300
308
298
297
306
303
Arm
N/A
N/A
30.875
32.5
33.375
32.125
32.875
33
40
N/A
5.11
5.25
5.33
5.10
5.03
5.11
4.89
20
N/A
N/A
N/A
3.10
2.97
2.82
2.93
2.85
10
N/A
N/A
1.83
1.85
1.84
1.69
1.73
1.72
Bench
N/A
25
25
23
25
N/A
33
29
Vertical
N/A
32
33
32.5
25.5
N/A
33
31
Broad
N/A
106
101
105
106
N/A
109
107
Shuttle
N/A
4.35
4.29
4.68
4.63
4.74
4.65
4.62
3-cone
N/A
7.35
7.47
7.59
7.93
7.85
7.50
8.28
College Guard
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
And now it’s on to the comments to argue one’s priors.