2015-16 NFL Pre-Season Position Rankings: Centers

We are about halfway through the NFL's off-season. OTA's have already started. Players are already getting injured. And the 2015-16 NFL season is getting so close, we can hear the footsteps coming up to the door and someone's just about ready to knock. With that said, it's time to look ahead at next season.

Now that NFL rosters are pretty much finalized (besides numerous upcoming cuts of course), it's time to start giving you guys an idea of how your team is shaping up for next season. What better way to do that than to start power ranking the starters at every position on each roster? It only makes sense.

Up next? The guys who are asked to do a lot more than you think on offense.....

Ultimate Football Blog's

2015-16 Pre-Season Position Rankings

Centers

KEY NOTE: This is a POWER RANKINGS. That means it's a "what have you done for me lately?" list. This is not an ALL-TIME greatest list. If the NFL commissioner came up to me tomorrow and said:

"Hey, you can have any starting center in the NFL.....who do you want?"


It would (most likely) go in this order.......


(PS: PFF grade means "Pro Football Focus Grade". For those of you who don't know, ProFootballFocus.com is an football analytics website that grades players based on a certain criteria and it's a criteria that I've come to love. It's a pretty simple grading formula to figure out as well. The more negative score the player has, the least effective he was on-the-field last season. For example a "-24.8" grade would be absolutely awful, but a "24.8" grade means the player was outstanding. See, I told you it was easy to figure out)

*Please note that I'm also ranking guys as if I was building a franchise for the future. Therefore, I tend to favor age a lot in these rankings. It's why the Indianapolis Colts traded Peyton Manning when they drafted Andrew Luck. In the NFL, age is KING!

32. Tim Barnes (St. Louis Rams)

Age: 27

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 0

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 0

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 0.9

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 0.0

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -0.9

31. Ted Larsen (Arizona Cardinals)

Age: 27

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 4

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 12

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 1.2

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -14.9

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -17.6 

30. Gino Gradkowski (Denver Broncos)

Age: 26

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 0

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 0

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 0.2

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 0.0

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 0.2

29. Lemuel Jeanpierre (Seattle Seahawks)

Age: 28

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 0

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 0

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -6.6

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 0.2

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -7.1 

28. Eric Kush (Kansas City Chiefs)

Age: 25

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: Didn't play last season

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: Didn't play last season

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: Didn't play last season

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: Didn't play last season

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: Didn't play last season

27. Eric Wood (Buffalo Bills)

Age: 29

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 3

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 5

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -2.7

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -4.9

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -5.5

26. Manny Ramirez (Detroit Lions)

Age: 32

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 4

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -4.2

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -5.0

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -9.2

25. Jeremy Zuttah (Baltimore Ravens)

Age: 29

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 0

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 11.5

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -10.6

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -1.3

24. Khaled Holmes (Indianapolis Colts)

Age: 25

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 1

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -6.3

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -8.0

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -13.2

23. Brian Schwenke (Tennessee Titans)

Age: 24

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 7

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -1.3

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -10.0

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -13.2

22. Weston Richburg (New York Giants)

Age: 23

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 7

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -8.7

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -3.5

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -14.3 

21. Russell Bodine (Cincinnati Bengals)

Age: 22

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 4

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -6.3

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -9.0

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -15.6 

20. Luke Bowanko (Jacksonville Jaguars)

Age: 23

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 4

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 3

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 1.7

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -9.3

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -9.2 

19. Bryan Stork (New England Patriots)

Age: 24

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 9

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -2.8

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -3.5

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -8.1 

18. Daniel Kilgore (San Francisco 49ers)

Age: 27

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 0

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 0

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 4.6

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -1.2

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 4.1

17. Joe Hawley (Atlanta Falcons)

Age: 26

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 0

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 1

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -2.5

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 2.4

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -1.2

16. Ben Jones (Houston Texans)

Age: 25

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 5

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 1.8

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -4.5

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -0.8

15. Chris Watt (San Diego Chargers)

Age: 24

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 3

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 1

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 0.8

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -3.3

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -3.0

14. Evan Smith (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Age: 28

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 4

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 7.2

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -3.9

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -0.2

13. Mike Pouncey (Miami Dolphins)

Age: 25

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 3

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 3

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -3.3

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -13.1

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -17.6

12. Will Montgomery (Chicago Bears)

Age: 32

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 0

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 2.6

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 5.1

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 6.6

11. Max Unger (New Orleans Saints)

Age: 29

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 0

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 0

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 11.5

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -0.6

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 10.3

10. Kory Lichtensteiger (Washington Redskins)

Age: 30

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 1

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 5.0

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -1.5

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 7.1

9. Ryan Kalil (Carolina Panthers)

Age: 30

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 3

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 2

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 17.8

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -12.8

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 6.8

8. Alex Mack (Cleveland Browns)

Age: 29

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 0

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 0

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 5.1

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 1.4

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 6.9

7. John Sullivan (Minnesota Vikings)

Age: 29

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 6

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 7.5

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -1.9

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 5.6

6. Maurkice Pouncey (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Age: 25

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 2

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 4.9

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 2.3

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 6.9

5. Jason Kelce (Philadelphia Eagles)

Age: 27

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 3

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 12.3

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -2.4

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 7.5 

4. Nick Mangold (New York Jets)

Age: 31

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 2

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 18.2

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 5.5

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 22.6

3. Corey Linsley (Green Bay Packers)

Age: 23

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 2

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 6.8

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 2.9

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 12.0

2. Rodney Hudson (Oakland Raiders)

Age: 25

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 2

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 2

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 4.7

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: 4.2

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 13.0

1. Travis Frederick (Dallas Cowboys)

Age: 24

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 1

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 3

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: 21.0

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -1.7

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: 22.1