2019 NFL Mock Draft: Brett Kollmann’s “Film Room” Special

The 2019 “Film Room” mock draft special has been released after three weeks of production. With it comes all the speculation, the arguments, and the wild-ass picks that you’ve come to know and love. Houston’s selection is no different, as I opted to go in a direction that not many others have gone so far this draft season - center.

I would say that the majority of analysts out there have the Texans taking a tackle or a guard with the 23rd overall pick on Thursday night, but with most of the great tackle and guard prospects already off the board in my own personal mock draft, I had to get creative.

Enter Garrett Bradbury, the ridiculously athletic center from N.C. State.

Bradbury is a freakishly quick pivot player who can do everything from reach blocking nose tackles without any help from his guards, to pulling out in space on counter runs to blow up linebackers, to effortlessly passing off stunts in protection to help preserve the integrity of the pocket. You name it, he can do it. I think his skill-set could be extremely valuable to Houston’s offense if he still happens to be on the board when the Texans go on the clock at No. 23.

If I was going to make a comparison of Bradbury to anyone still in the league, it would be to either Jason Kelce or Alex Mack, both also incredibly quick zone centers, and you’d be hard pressed to find any Eagles or Falcons fan that didn’t think either of those guys were insanely important to their offenses. I know we like to talk about the left and right tackle positions being the most important spots to fill on the line - and yes, I still agree that they are - but you kind of can’t function up front without a great center either. History has proven that over and over again, especially with the rise in popularity in zone run games over the last several years.

So with a need at center (in my opinion, Nick Martin hasn’t shown he’s undeniably the answer) and the best one still being on the board here, I felt like Bradbury was a natural fit in that spot. At the very least, I know that I’m getting a damn good player here, and I’m getting him at a good value, which in the end is all I really want out of a first round pick.

What do you think of my selection of Garrett Bradbury, BRB? In this scenario, do you feel like some other name would have been a better value? Why or why not?