RENTON — What affect is yet another position change having on Justin Britt?
“I’m definitely losing more hair because of it,” Britt quipped.
But if that’s what the Seattle Seahawks are asking, it’s a sacrifice Britt’s willing to make.
The Seahawks are in the midst of the second of three weeks of organized team activities, better known as OTAs, and one of the bigger stories of the offseason remains Britt’s transition from guard to center.
Britt is entering his third season in the NFL since being selected by Seattle in the second round of the 2014 draft. As a rookie in 2014 he started all 16 games at right tackle. Last season he started all 16 games at left guard.
Now he’s being tasked with learning his third different position in three years.
“I think like anything you just want to find the best five,” Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable, speaking following Wednesday’s session at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, said about the rationale behind moving Britt. “Where are they and who are they? We’ve messed around with that in the past, so now it creates some more competition there. … He’s smart, tough, gets it, is a good communicator, all those good things.”
Said Britt: “Really, I just want to start and play. I love the challenge. To an extent it makes me feel more important, more involved. I feel like my abilities are capable of doing the job.”
The center position in some ways encapsulated Seattle’s entire offensive line last season. The Seahawks, after trading Pro Bowl center Max Unger to New Orleans in the deal that brought tight end Jimmy Graham to Seattle last offseason, had no obvious answer at center heading into 2015. The position was ultimately handed to Drew Nowak, a college defensive tackle who spent the entire 2014 season on the Seahawks’ practice squad.
Then Seattle’s offensive line was a mess during the first half of the season, with quarterback Russell Wilson sacked 31 times in the first seven games. Patrick Lewis replaced Nowak as the starting center for good beginning in Week 9, and over the final eight games the Seahawks allowed just 15 sacks while averaging 32.0 points per contest.
Yet the Seahawks decided the best move was to try Britt at center. Britt has seen most of the snaps with the first-team offensive line so far during OTAs. His main advantage over Lewis is size, as Britt is listed at 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds compared to Lewis at 6-foot-1 and 305 pounds. Rookie Joey Hunt, a sixth-round pick, is also in the mix at center.
“We want to put Patrick in a competitive situation with Joey and with Justin and let the three of them kind of duke it out,” Cable said. “You kind of know what they’ve done, but every year is a new year and some guys get better and some guys drop off. We just want to create the best group we possibly can.”
Britt had never played center before. But shortly after the Seahawks selected linemen Germain Ifedi and Rees Odhiambo in they first and third rounds, respectively, of this year’s draft, Britt’s phone began to ring.
“(Cable) called me after the draft and said, ‘Hey, how do you feel about playing center?’” Britt said. “I said, ‘I’ve never done it, but I’ll do whatever you need me to do.’ It just adds to the repertoire, adds to the resume, I guess, and I’ll come out here ready to do it.”
Thus began Britt’s center education. He’s downloaded film of Unger and other top NFL centers. He’s spent more time studying at home than he has in past offseasons in an effort to master the subtleties of the position.
“I know the offense inside and out,” Britt said. “The hardest part is really seeing it from the center perspective and getting the calls out quick, reading the defense and getting the calls out quick. I’m so used to playing guard or tackle, where I wait for the center to make the call and boom I know what I’m doing. But now I’m the one that has to see, and people are waiting on me to get the call out. It’s definitely getting better, more rhythmic, and I’m getting more comfortable.”
However, Britt’s best resource has been a former teammate. The Seahawks chose not to re-sign center Lemuel Jeanpierre as a free agent this offseason, but that hasn’t prevented Britt from mining Jeanpierre’s brain for every last scrap of information about playing the position.
“Me and Lem are really good friends,” Britt said. “Lem was like the first guy I talked to whenever I got here who wasn’t a rookie. So we had a connection, and he could tell you that when I first got here I’d come to camp at like 9 p.m. asking about the install for tomorrow. So I’ve always used him.
“He really understands the system here,” Britt added about Jeanpierre. “Even though he’s not here, he’s a great asset for me to have. He’s definitely helped me understand the ins and outs without myself having to make it more confusing. It’s definitely slowed down the practices for me because the first day or so things were flying. Snaps were probably everywhere, and now they’re consistent, I’m not even thinking about it, I’m just confident in myself.”
And that confidence could lead to a starting role at three different positions in three years.
“The more you can do, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity,” Britt said. “I’m going to do all I can to make sure this works out well.”
Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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