Complete NFL Draft Rankings – C:
You are currently viewing the best centers in the 2020 NFL Draft. Our top center prospects are selected after thousands of hours carefully scouting the best interior offensive linemen in college football. Even though only about 10 will get selected in the draft, about a dozen more are signed as free agents, and many more receive a training camp invite. Find who is a first round talent, and who is likely nothing more than a training camp body. Find draft sleepers, draft stars, who will be a bust, and who is being undervalued.
BNB Football is the best place for in-depth analysis of 2020 center prospects at all levels of college football. To view other positions, follow the links below.
(Last Updated: April 16, 2020)
1. Cesar Ruiz, JR, Michigan
Ruiz played with some very smart and experienced linemen at Michigan (Bredeson and Runyan), but he has the highest ceiling of them all. Despite not having great width or strength, Ruiz is athletic, gets out of his stance fast, and uses great leverage on his blocks. He doesn’t have the choppy movement you see with a lot of linemen, and stands out as a natural mover and bender on film. He doesn’t have the best frame if you play him at guard, which isn’t something you can change with an NFL diet or workout regimen. Ruiz has experience playing at right guard as well as center, and could play all 3 interior line positions effectively.
2019 Stats
13 games, 2.5 years as a starter at center and right guard, All-Big 10 2nd Team
2. Tyler Biadasz, rJR, Wisconsin
Biadasz is the classic center prospect who’s production and success in college outweighs his NFL ceiling. When this happens I often overrate them because I value college success in linemen so highly, but I expect Biadasz to be a solid starter early in his career. Like all Wisconsin linemen, he’s been really well coached and can excel in a number of different blocking schemes. While he doesn’t possess elite strength or athleticism, he’s above average in both regards and has flexible hips while bending well. He was the Rimington trophy winner and a consensus first team All American for a reason, and should be able to translate his intelligent play to the next level.
2019 Stats
14 games, 3 years as a starter at center, Consensus 1st Team All-American, All-Big 10 1st Team
3. Lloyd Cushenberry III, rJR, LSU
Cushenberry doesn’t have as much experience as some of the other center prospects, but he has a unique skillset for the position. He combines the power of a guard and IQ of a center with the length of an offensive tackle, as he has extremely long arms despite standing only 6’3". He embraces the “we" mentality that you want to see from offensive linemen, and was highly regarded at LSU for his selflessness, work ethic, and leadership. A member of the Joe Moore award for best offensive line in the country, Cushenberry has a lot of tools to work with and has already seen success at the college level. His biggest limited is lack of foot speed, which could cause him trouble on 3rd down passing situations or twists.
2019 Stats
15 games, 2 years as a starter at center, All-America 3rd Team, All-SEC 1st Team
4. Matt Hennessy, rJR, Temple
Matt Hennessy entered the draft a year early after a breakout season that saw him receive some All-America attention, as well as a 1st team all-conference selection. He uses his hands especially well and maintains solid pad level, while having very quick feet for a 6’4" center. He has room in his frame for more weight, which could be necessary to deal with big nose tackles. Hennessy has ideal toughness for an interior linemen and the football IQ needed to play the pivot at the next level. While he only played center in college, I could see him performing well at left guard as well.
2019 Stats
12 games, 3 years as a starter at center, All-AAC 1st Team
5. Darryl Williams, rSR, Mississippi State
Darryl Williams is a strong, tough offensive lineman who has seen success at a couple positions for Mississippi State. After starring at left guard in his sophomore and junior seasons, he moved to center where he will likely fit better as a pro. Williams lacks ideal size at 6’2 1/2", but shows a good ability to wall off defenders and plays with above average quickness. While he doesn’t have the same physical traits as some of the top centers in the class, he plays with ideal toughness and has been on the NFL radar since he was a sophomore beating up on SEC defensive tackles.
2019 Stats
13 games, 3 years as a starter at left guard and center, All-Conference SEC by PFF
Complete draft rankings for 2020 – Center
RANK | NAME | SCHOOL | AGE | HT | WT |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cesar Ruiz | Michigan | JR | 6'3" | 307 |
2 | Tyler Biadasz | Wisconsin | rJR | 6'3.5" | 314 |
3 | Lloyd Cushenberry III | LSU | rJR | 6'3" | 312 |
4 | Matt Hennessy | Temple | rJR | 6'4" | 307 |
5 | Darryl Williams | Mississippi State | rSR | 6'2.5" | 304 |
6 | Keith Ismael | San Diego State | rJR | 6'3" | 309 |
7 | Nick Harris | Washington | SR | 6'1" | 302 |
8 | Cohl Cabral | Arizona State | SR | 6'5" | 300 |
9 | Kyle Hinton | Washburn | SR | 6'2" | 295 |
10 | Jake Hanson | Oregon | rSR | 6'4.5" | 303 |
11 | Sean Pollard | Clemson | SR | 6'5.5" | 309 |
12 | Frederick Mauigoa | Washington State | SR | 6'4" | 310 |
13 | Dustin Woodard | Memphis | SR | 6'2" | 290 |
14 | Luke Juriga | Western Michigan | rSR | 6'4" | 295 |
15 | Trystan Colon-Castillo | Missouri | rJR | 6'3" | 313 |
16 | Donell Stanley | South Carolina | rSR | 6'3" | 325 |
17 | Zach Shackelford | Texas | SR | 6'4" | 305 |
18 | Levi Brown | Marshall | rSR | 6'3.5" | 301 |
19 | Colton Prater | Texas A&M | SR | 6'4" | 300 |
20 | Sam Tecklenburg | Baylor | rSR | 6'4" | 310 |
21 | Jordan Johnson | UCF | SR | 6'2" | 320 |
22 | Spencer Blackburn | Eastern Washington | rSR | 6'2" | 290 |
23 | Jake Fruhmorgen | Baylor | rSR | 6'6" | 305 |
24 | Johnny Wilson | Oklahoma State | rSR | 6'3.5" | 314 |
25 | Tim Lynott | Colorado | rSR | 6'2" | 301 |
26 | Zach Larsen | Southern Utah | SR | 6'1" | 305 |
27 | Adam Holtorf | Kansas State | rSR | 6'4" | 300 |
28 | Jared Thomas | Northwestern | rSR | 6'2.5" | 300 |
29 | Garrett Larson | Boise State | rSR | 6'4" | 305 |
30 | Nick Buchanan | Florida | rSR | 6'3" | 285 |
31 | TJ McCoy | Louisville | rSR | 6'1" | 305 |
32 | Jake Lacina | Augustana | rSR | 6'4" | 300 |
33 | Junior Diaz | Florida Atlantic | rSR | 6'2" | 300 |
34 | Hunter Littlejohn | Indiana | rSR | 6'3" | 315 |
35 | Kaleb Kim | Auburn | SR | 6'4" | 300 |
36 | Boss Tagaloa | UCLA | SR | 6'1" | 315 |
37 | Christian Montano | Tulane | rSR | 6'4" | 300 |
38 | Derron Gatewood | UTEP | rSR | 6'2" | 300 |
39 | Grant Stewart | Colorado-Mines | rSR | 6'2" | 305 |
40 | Bobby Reynolds | UL-Monroe | rSR | 6'2" | 285 |
41 | Jack Kramer | Bowling Green | rSR | 6'3" | 300 |
42 | Aaron Brewer | Texas State | SR | 6'3" | 270 |
43 | Tre Coney | Reinhardt | SR | 6'1" | 315 |
44 | Steven Hayes | Ohio | SR | 6'4" | 320 |
45 | Sterling Strother | Yale | SR | 6'5" | 320 |
46 | Cy Sirmon | Montana | rSR | 6'4" | 290 |
47 | Mac Patrick | James Madison | SR | 6'2" | 290 |
48 | Dontae Duff | Liberty | rSR | 6'1" | 330 |
49 | Sosaia Mose | North Texas | rSR | 6'2" | 290 |
50 | Wyatt Wozniak | Indiana State | rSR | 6'3" | 300 |
51 | Josh Sokol | Sacred Heart | rSR | 6'3" | 295 |
52 | Sid Acosta | UNLV | rSR | 6'1" | 300 |
53 | Matt Burrell | Sam Houston State | rSR | 6'3" | 305 |
54 | Collin Olson | Iowa State | rSR | 6'1" | 290 |
55 | Dallas Connell | Florida International | SR | 6'3" | 300 |
56 | Mario Farinella | Delaware | rSR | 6'2" | 305 |
57 | Nate Warnock | Kent State | rSR | 6'4" | 300 |
58 | James Officer IV | Olivet Nazarene | SR | 6'1.5" | 286 |
59 | Matt Jones | Youngstown State | rSR | 6'3" | 325 |
60 | Thomas Burton | Tennessee State | rSR | 6'2" | 305 |
61 | Gabe Spurlock | Duquesne | SR | 6'4" | 295 |
62 | Andrew Poenitsch | Ball State | rSR | 6'3" | 275 |
63 | Hayden Eatinger | Missouri Western | rSR | 6'3" | 280 |
64 | Liam Shanahan | Harvard | SR | 6'5" | 270 |
65 | Jordan Seal | Carson-Newman | SR | 6'5" | 310 |
66 | Brian Chaffin | Rice | rSR | 6'2" | 280 |
67 | Dallen Collins | Idaho State | SR | 6'2" | 290 |
68 | Brandon Floores | Incarnate Word | SR | 6'4" | 295 |
69 | Jeff Arnold | Indiana (PA) | rSR | 6'3" | 280 |
70 | Dominic Jordan | Norfolk State | SR | 6'2" | 290 |
71 | Garrett Stauffer | Portland State | rSR | 6'3" | 290 |
72 | Call Dyer | West Alabama | rSR | 6'4" | 360 |
73 | Steve Eipper | Central Michigan | rSR | 6'4" | 290 |
74 | Samuel Lefebvre | Laval | SR | 6'3" | 300 |
75 | Joe Murphy | Azusa Pacific | SR | 6'4" | 310 |
76 | Niko Culnan | Albany | SR | 6'2" | 305 |
77 | Jared Maciejczak | Chadron State | rSR | 6'5" | 295 |
78 | Lee Dufour | UAB | rSR | 6'4" | 310 |
79 | Mike Yerardi | Massachusetts | rSR | 6'4" | 320 |
80 | Connor Vikupitz | Air Force | SR | 6'3" | 265 |
81 | Cole Phelps | Central Connecticut | SR | 6'1" | 280 |
82 | Matt Cella | Kutztown | SR | 6'3" | 285 |
83 | Trevor Curle | Saginaw Valley State | rSR | 6'3" | 295 |
84 | Terence Hickman | Incarnate Word | SR | 6'3" | 285 |
85 | Cody Hooks | Houston Baptist | SR | 6'4" | 305 |
86 | Noah Perez | Tarleton State | rSR | 6'2" | 280 |
87 | Parker Coogan | Columbia | SR | 6'2" | 300 |
88 | Alex Deters | Princeton | SR | 6'2" | 275 |
89 | Brady Hogue | Westminster (PA) | SR | 6'3" | 270 |
90 | Gibril Ghee | Hampton | rSR | 6'2" | 310 |
91 | Ford Higgins | Navy | SR | 6'2" | 260 |
92 | Ryan Malarkey | Muhlenberg | SR | 6'1" | 295 |
93 | Cameron Bailey | Morehead State | rSR | 6'2" | 320 |
94 | Isaiah Kent-Schneider | Drake | rSR | 6'5" | 290 |
95 | Justin Rosendahl | Quincy | rSR | 6'4" | 300 |
96 | Tim Roell | Dayton | rSR | 6'2" | 265 |
97 | Patrick Quintana | Trinity (TX) | SR | 6'0" | 320 |
98 | Eli Teeselink | Presbyterian | rSR | 6'0" | 285 |
99 | Zach Smith | Hope | SR | 5'11" | 265 |
Overall Opinion of the Centers
Centers are generally smaller and not always as fast, often leading to lots of linemen transitioning to play it at the next level. This year, a large number of talented centers will be available, all having experience snapping the ball already. Over the past 10 years, only 6-7 centers are drafted in the average year. In the 2020 center class, I currently have 11 players with draftable grades. The position is deeper than the guard class up top which is rare, and many players have 3 or 4 years of starting experience in power 5 programs. Guys like Nick Harris and Jake Hanson are great value options who you can draft in late rounds and plug in immediately, while the top 5 players listed above all have pro bowl potential. It is certainly an above average year for the centers, and any team looking for interior offensive linemen may look here longer than they look at guard.