Lots of talk about Shelton and getting a center to replace him, thought we could have it's own thread. I think people remember Shelton at times getting bull rushed and that skews how they feel about him. Also, I think people have seen what a top 3 center in the league can do and it's pretty sexy to think about. There's just a huge variance between the two.
The thing is, center is paid the least of the Oline starters league wide because generally they're easy to find in the draft as you don't need them to be as strong or athletic as guards or tackles who typically need to block one on one more and have more movement responsibilities. Generally teams feel like they can get away with less athletic talent at the position but the predominate characteristic is smarts as they're often responsible for line calls, reading the defense and line communication.
They're the conductor, maybe not talented enough to play the cello at the highest rate but they need to know how it's played and where the musician needs to get to and what cadence it takes.
All that being said, I think there's some issues with assessing how well Coleman did this year (and even going back to 2023). In 2023 we had a top line, the line regressed in 2024 (Shelton was gone to the Bears) and the line was great in 2025. One of the biggest changes (I concede not the only) of course was the addition and subtraction of Shelton during that time. I suspect that his defensive ID is great (though it seems like that's a shared duty between him and Stafford), his communication is top notch and his physical skills are underrated. Case in point:
View: https://x.com/NFL_Researcher/status/2007195695468650782
Stats aren't everything but I think there needs to be a really great argument to replace him given the performance of the line and what these stats show (anyone got some on his run blocking rate). We do probably need to look for his replacement though in this draft... I'd be curious to get a look at Limmer next camp as he had some more time to learn and maybe the mental part for him has developed more. He absolutely has plus physical skills at the position.
Also, FWIW NextGen seems to be the superior stat site to PFF.
The thing is, center is paid the least of the Oline starters league wide because generally they're easy to find in the draft as you don't need them to be as strong or athletic as guards or tackles who typically need to block one on one more and have more movement responsibilities. Generally teams feel like they can get away with less athletic talent at the position but the predominate characteristic is smarts as they're often responsible for line calls, reading the defense and line communication.
They're the conductor, maybe not talented enough to play the cello at the highest rate but they need to know how it's played and where the musician needs to get to and what cadence it takes.
All that being said, I think there's some issues with assessing how well Coleman did this year (and even going back to 2023). In 2023 we had a top line, the line regressed in 2024 (Shelton was gone to the Bears) and the line was great in 2025. One of the biggest changes (I concede not the only) of course was the addition and subtraction of Shelton during that time. I suspect that his defensive ID is great (though it seems like that's a shared duty between him and Stafford), his communication is top notch and his physical skills are underrated. Case in point:
View: https://x.com/NFL_Researcher/status/2007195695468650782
Stats aren't everything but I think there needs to be a really great argument to replace him given the performance of the line and what these stats show (anyone got some on his run blocking rate). We do probably need to look for his replacement though in this draft... I'd be curious to get a look at Limmer next camp as he had some more time to learn and maybe the mental part for him has developed more. He absolutely has plus physical skills at the position.
Also, FWIW NextGen seems to be the superior stat site to PFF.
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