2016 East West Shrine Game Recap (Offense)

Center:

The Bears drafted their center of the future last year in Hroniss Grasu, but they don’t currently have any depth behind him. Grasu also isn’t a sure thing as he really struggled at times during his rookie year. I could see the Bears targeting a center who has the versatility to play guard as well. That way they have a backup plan if Grasu struggles or depth at guard if Grasu gets stronger and locks down the center position.

Graham Glasnow, Michigan – Was mentioned in almost every recap of the Shrine game practices and is the only player (so far) that earned a Senior Bowl invite due to his performance during the week of practice. Glasnow is an excellent run blocker with the movement skills to get to the 2nd level consistently. His pass pro technique still needs some work, but overall Glasnow looks polished enough to play right away and has the versatility to play guard as if needed.

Jake Brendel, UCLA – Not listed very highly on most center rankings, but Brendel broke a UCLA record with 53 consecutive starts for the Bruins and had an excellent game at the Shrine Bowl. His technique is clean and he shows a good understanding of how to use leverage and maximize his power to move defenders off the ball. During the game there were 3-4 draw plays where Brendel effectively sealed his man out of the play. He’s most likely an undrafted free agent, but he has decent size (6’3 | 305), football intelligence, and the versatility to play either center or guard.

*I wasn’t at Shrine game practices, so that info is from a combination of reports from CBS Sports, NFL.com, and WalterFootball.com