Rank the AFC West: Centers
This is a thread for the Addicts among us. Who among the AFC West sports the best centers, and who sports the worst?
Vote in comments, and be sure to keep track of your votes as this series rolls on. It could be interesting to see how good you think each team is once you add up all your rankings.
The following are your depth charts at center:
Denver Broncos: JD Walton, Russ Hochstein
Kansas City Chiefs: Rodney Hudson, Rudy Niswanger
Oakland Raiders: Stefen Wisniewski, Samson Satele
San Diego Chargers: Nick Hardwick, Scott Mruczkowski
My vote after the jump. Yours is invited in comments.
1. Chargers — At the center position in the NFL, if you gave me the choice between a rookie and a steady vet, I’m opting for the vet. Hardwick is one of maybe ten centers in the NFL you can count on to provide you great linecalls and great blocking 16 games a year. He’s not elite or anything, so I guess he’s Wiegmannesque in that regard.
2. Raiders — Wisniewski and Hudson are both great center prospects entering the AFC West, but Wisniewski is (a.) the better prospect to begin with, (b.) much, much more experienced at center than Hudson, and (c.) is entering a rare, amazing situation, being coached up by his uncle.
3. Chiefs — I have all the faith in the world in Hudson, and I think he’s going to be a 16 game starter on this team for ten years.
4. Broncos — I do not have much faith in JD Walton, who still has leaps and bounds to improve. A center in the AFC West is a pretty tough job anyway, considering some of the defensive lines you have to play. Walton struggles against all three teams.
So, assuming a 1st is 4 points, and a 4th is 1 point, this is my individual position scoreboard so far:
Chargers: 25
Chiefs: 19
Broncos: 14
Raiders: 12