The Seattle Seahawks may have found their bookend franchise tackles in last year’s draft, but they were a far cry from complete when it came to the interior offensive line. Former center Austin Blythe was often pushed around, especially by the San Francisco 49ers. Improving the center position is a strong area of need for the Seahawks.
During free agency, Seattle signed former Detroit Lions starting center/guard Evan Brown. While Brown could presumably be the favorite to start the season, by no means is his position guaranteed.
The Seahawks drafted center Olusegun Oluwatimi out of Michigan, and head coach Pete Carroll has already made it clear the Wolverine will be in the mix for a starting role. From Seahawks.com:
“After Schneider welcomes Oluwatimi to the team, Carroll makes it clear to the rookie that, Day 3 pick or not, he’s coming to compete for the starting center spot. ‘I know it’s a long wait for you, but you’ve got your place now,’ Carroll says. ‘You’ve got a really competitive opportunity too. You come in here with your mindset, you’re going to come out and get this job and see if you can own this thing. You’re going to get a real good opp to take a look at it.'”
Carroll’s mantra is “always compete” and it appears this certainly isn’t going away anytime soon.
