With Ryan Kalil’s retirement, the Panthers have a need for a new center. Is Garrett Bradbury the right man for the job?
In what is becoming an annual off-season tradition, the Panthers have serious questions to address for their putrid offensive line. Ryan Kalil was a mainstay in Carolina for over a decade, but he has since retired. His retirement accentuates the Panthers need to search for a suitable replacement in the center of their offensive line.
Daniel Jeremiah says Garrett Bradbury (NC State) has the athleticism of Jason Kelce, lateral movement of Ryan Kalil and has been blowing teams away in the meetings with his football IQ - brings a huge element of leadership to the center position.
— Travis Wingfield (@WingfieldNFL) January 24, 2019
The former Wolfpack product attended high school in Charlotte, but the universal praise from draft analysts forced me to check out his NC State tape.
Pass protection
The concern many have with Bradbury is his functional strength, but those issues can be alleviated with leverage and hand placement.
Bradbury’s IQ shows up on this set. He immediately identifies the incoming stunt and shifts his eyes to the 3-technique. Bradbury has flexible knee bend and his hand placement is ideal to provide a clean pocket for the quarterback.
Bradbury demonstrates why leverage and placement are important to slow down defensive tackles. He does an effective job of using his footwork to mirror the tackle and then controlling him with his leverage.
Bradbury is facing Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence on this rep. He snaps his hands quickly into his set, but then carries over his hands to fight against Lawrence’s pass rush.
Bradbury is facing Christian Wilkins heads up. This is where the concerns about his play strength show up. Wilkins uses a one arm stab to Bradbury’s chest, which catches him off balance. Wilkins is then able to rip through and beat him.
Bradbury’s technique in pass rush reps are excellent. The concerns with his anchor are real, but the athleticism, IQ, and and core strength can be compensated for that issue.
Run blocking
NC State’s rushing offense mainly ran zone concepts last season. There weren’t many power or gap concepts in their arsenal.
Bradbury executes a difficult reach block, but then works up field to get his hands on the linebacker. The result is a touchdown, but this was an impressive combo block.
Bradbury flattens the defensive tackle to create a lane for the running back. He uses correct angles when he is working laterally. Then, he displays functional movement skills to open up the hole.
Bradbury’s movement skills are also impressive. He immediately targets the linebacker at the second level. He makes just enough contact so the running back can continue his run for an extra 10 yards.
Bradbury isn’t perfect when he has to win the leverage battle. As shown on this play, he’s late to react which allows the defensive tackle to drive him back. Due to the issues with his anchor and functional strength, he has to win the leverage battle immediately.
Fit with Carolina
Carolina certainly needs a center to replace Kalil, but the question becomes how soon should they draft one? Of course there is free agency, but the better option is to find a young guy to groom for years to come. Bradbury has the technique, athleticism, and IQ to become a key cog in the NFL for years. His functional strength is a real issue.
Carolina’s offense is primarily centered around gap and power run concepts. If the Panthers were executing a zone based offense like the 49ers or Rams, then I’d feel comfortable drafting Bradbury high. With that said, I would take a chance on Bradbury in the 2nd round. However, there have been rumors about him potentially going in the first round. That’s too rich. Carolina has to address the interior of their offensive line, but they should also not force the pick.
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