North Carolina State's Garrett Bradbury is considered to be the best center in the NFL Draft. He was the winner of the Rimington Award, given to the nation's top college offensive lineman.
He made a case for himself to be a first-round pick in April after having one of the best performances among all offensive linemen at the NFL Combine. He has good size for the position at 6-3, 306 pounds. He ran the third-fastest 40 yard dash in his position group at 4.92 seconds. He also had the second-most bench reps (34) among offensive linemen.
But we know it takes more than just great numbers at the combine to be good in the NFL. Offensive linemen need the physical traits, in addition to the mental makeup and technique to succeed.
Here's what Garrett Bradbury had to say about playing center to Yahoo Sports:
“Half of my gameday [at center] is pre-snap,” Bradbury said. “It’s understanding what the defense is doing [and] communicating that to the coaches so we can put ourselves in the best position to win a ball game. In pass protection, it’s sliding the calls, reading the defense where the pressure’s coming from.”
The chemistry between offensive linemen and their quarterback is essential for all of them to succeed. Bradbury was the top college offensive lineman in 2018 for a reason. He has the resume and the numbers to succeed in the NFL. Centers need to be able to identify a blitz, read defenses, and relay the reads to the entire offense.
There aren't many weaknesses to Bradbury's game. He loves having to carry a large workload; he was one of the leaders of the N.C. State football team.
“I love the responsibility of it. There’s four other guys that need me to give them a call, and they’re all trusting me to put them in the best position possible.”
Garrett Bradbury will be very successful in the NFL. He'll be one of the first offensive linemen to be selected in the 2019 draft.
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