Seahawks Boost OL Depth, Sign Ex-Washington Standout Nick Harris

Reuniting with one of his old students from the Washington Huskies, the Seattle Seahawks will add competition at the pivot position on the first official day of free agency. Scott Huff is the new offensive line coach. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the Seahawks and fourth-year center Nick Harris have reached an agreement on a $2.51 million, one-year contract. The deal’s potential value, with incentives, might reach $3.26 million.

Thriving under the tutelage of Huff, Harris emerged as one of the top centers in the country at Washington, earning

First-Team All-Pac 12 honors in 2018 and 2019. Despite his accolades, his name

wasn’t called at the 2020 NFL Draft until the Browns selected him in the fifth

round at pick No. 160 and he played 146 offensive snaps in 12 games as a rookie.

Interestingly, Harris never earned a full-time starting job in Cleveland in part

because the team signed former Seattle starter Ethan Pocic, who rejuvenated his

career as the starting center for one of the NFL’s best offensive lines. Injuries

also contributed to his lack of playing time, including missing the entire 2022

season with a knee injury suffered in the preseason.

However, the 25-year-old Harris has excelled at pass protection when given the opportunity to play. During the previous season, he replaced Pocic twice and, according to Pro Football Focus, on 169 pass blocking repetitions, he allowed just three pressures and no sacks. He received a strong 75.3 pass blocking grade in 2021 despite playing in little time and not giving up any pressure on 44 pass blocking snaps.

Weighing under 295 pounds, while he won’t be mistaken as a body mover at the center position, Harris packs more

punch than expected in the run game and has enough lateral mobility to excel

in zone blocking schemes. He posted a decent 67.2 run blocking grade in 2021,

though he regressed to an average 58.7 score last season. Returning to his old

stomping grounds and reuniting with Huff, Harris will be thrust into a

competition with second-year center Olu Oluwatimi, who the Seahawks drafted in

the fifth-round out of Michigan last year. After losing the starting job to veteran

Evan Brown in training camp, Oluwatimi started one game and saw 129 offensive

snaps in his rookie season, showing promise as a pass blocker with one

pressure allowed on 70 pass protection reps.

Seattle will be interested in seeing what Oluwatimi can do as a full-time starter

next season, but Harris has a big advantage going into what should be an

exciting training camp duel because of his past relationship with Huff. It seems

unlikely that Brown, who started 16 games at the pivot position last season,

will rejoin the Seahawks for a second season now that Harris is a part of the

team. Having said that, his past success as a starter at guard could allow him to

return in free agency later on a cheap one-year contract and challenge for a

starting position on a redesigned interior offensive line.