With a tremendous amount of responsibility, why isn’t the center position valued as much as other positions on the offensive line? This positional value debate has reared its head in this draft season with Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey and his NFL Draft stock. However, Humphrey’s level of play this season and over his career have him positioned for NFL success.
Creed Humphrey NFL Draft Profile
- Position: Center
- School: Oklahoma
- Current Year: Redshirt Junior
- Height: 6’4 5/8″
- Weight: 312 pounds
- Wingspan: 79 1/2″
- Arm: 31 3/4″
- Hand: 9 5/8″
Tony Pauline’s Creed Humphrey Scouting Report
Positives: Dynamic zone-blocking center who started the three years he played at Oklahoma. Fundamentally-sound lineman, sets with a wide base, and bends his knees. Explosive at the point, fires into blocks and stays square. Keeps his feet moving, can slide in space and displays good blocking range. Possesses outstanding vision, keeps his head on a swivel, and displays a good feel for what’s happening on the field. Terrific with the shotgun snap.
[sv slug=”drizly”]Negatives: Not a big, mauling center who gets a lot of movement run blocking. Must improve his strength at the point.
Analysis: Humphrey was productive as well as durable for Oklahoma, and showed consistent progress in his game. He’s a mobile center with growth potential who comes with an upside. Humphrey should be the first player at his position selected in April and have a long starting career in the NFL.
Creed Humphrey Player Profile
Creed Humphrey was part of the 2018 Oklahoma Sooners’ offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award. The Oklahoma staff had high hopes for Humphrey as a recruit. He was a top-four center unanimously across every recruiting service and was the third-ranked recruit in Oklahoma.
Hailing from Shawnee, Oklahoma, Humphrey was a heavy name in the Oklahoma high school wrestling circuit. His father was a three-time All-American wrestler as well.
That wrestling background showed in his strength and play in college. As a freshman, Humphrey was bench pressing 400 pounds and squatting 600 pounds. Humphrey redshirted as a freshman to develop behind first-team All-Big 12 player Erick Wren.
Creed Humphrey’s career as an Oklahoma center
Creed Humphrey got the starting nod at center in 2018 and locked up the starting role for years. Humphrey paved the way for Heisman winner QB Kyler Murray and helped Oklahoma make the playoffs against Alabama.
There, he went toe-to-toe against future No. 3 overall pick Quinnen Williams and more than held his own. Humphrey earned a spot as the second-team All-Big 12 team and was named to the freshman All-American squad by FWAA.
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Humphrey followed this up with another stellar performance in 2019. That year, Humphrey was named one of the three finalists for the Rimington Trophy, given to the nation’s best center. Humphrey was the only offensive lineman returning on that Oklahoma offensive line that year to boot. Despite that, Oklahoma’s offense was once again at the apex of the nation, in no small part thanks to Humphrey’s elite play.
In 2020, Creed Humphrey once again had a great year. Humphrey was first-team All Big-12 and was named a third-team All-American. The Sooners’ offense hummed once again, with Humphrey leading the way. Once again, Humphrey did not allow a single sack, making it two years in a row he did not allow a sack.
Analyzing Creed Humphrey’s NFL Draft Profile
The center position is a unique one. Unlike offensive tackles who get drafted off of athleticism alone, centers are evaluated more as a sum of their parts. Humphrey excels at executing his responsibilities. He’s stout in pass protection — having not allowed a single sack in two seasons.
In today’s game, where NFL defenses are changing every year, teams need a protector like that, especially with a young quarterback under center. He’s incredibly smart. A three-time All-Academic Big 12 honoree, Creed Humphrey’s intelligence on and off the field are raved about. The communication he displays as the “quarterback of the offensive line” shows up in every game.
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His wrestling background shows up with his powerful anchor strength and use of hands. His grasp of establishing leverage on opposing defensive linemen helps him repeatedly win rep after rep.
Humphrey was invited to the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl. The Oklahoma center impressed throughout the week but drew particular praise from Daniel Jeremiah during the Wednesday practice. If his NFL Draft stock had elevated at the Senior Bowl, it sky rocketed following Oklahoma’s Pro Day. Although accuracy in measurements will be a contentious issue in this process, Humphrey demonstrated his explosion, agility, and speed, earning a perfect RAS. He ranked first out of 484 centers measured since 1987.
What are Humphrey’s shortcomings?
Creed Humphrey doesn’t really have a ton of issues. He’s an elite athlete for the position, given his wrestling background and film. He isn’t lengthy, however, that isn’t as meaningful for a center as it would be for an offensive tackle. Most of his issues are simply from a physical profile part. As a result, Humphrey will need to be as fundamentally sound as possible, which he’s pretty close to already.
Creed Humphrey’s best 2021 NFL Draft fits
In my opinion, Humphrey will be a Round 1 to Round 2 pick. The Baltimore Ravens seem like a perfect match of scheme and draft stock with Creed Humphrey. The Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, and Pittsburgh Steelers are all teams that need a reliable center upfront. Given the upward trajectory of his 2021 NFL Draft stock, the Rams are likely to be out of reach late in the second round. However, the above mentioned teams would be perfectly located to secure an anchor on the offensive line for years to come.
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