MOBILE, Ala. — It might not be the most glorious position in the NFL, but center is one of the most important.

Not only must a center have the athletic ability to block in space and the strength to anchor the pocket against behemoth defensive tackles, he also has to be smart enough to make many of the protection calls at the line of scrimmage and account for all of the oncoming blitzers.

Given all of those requirements, one would think centers would be highly valued in the draft. Wrong!

Due to the recent success of several late-round picks and undrafted free agents at the position, teams like to acquire centers cheaply. Well, that might not be as easy this year. While several offensive tackles and guards have looked very promising at Senior Bowl practices this week, the centers have been underwhelming thus far.

Here’s hoping they show some improvement throughout the rest of the week.

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