What’s the consensus on Luke Wattenberg? Should he continue to be our center in 2025 or do we upgrade there?
December 30, 2024
What’s the consensus on Luke Wattenberg? Should he continue to be our center in 2025 or do we upgrade there?
36 comments
I would prefer to upgrade
He is actually really good at pass blocking but his run blocking is lacking.
The fact that he is rarely talked about I think means he is doing his job most the time and he is on a super cheap contract. Give him another year.
With unlimited resources, sure, you could do better. But unless the reincarnation of Tom Nalen walks through the door, I’d rather invest in skill positions on offense, and more depth on D.
It’s not a big priority but it could benefit from an upgrade. I think RB, TE, MLB, WR, and S are our biggest needs in that specific order
Punter. We need a new punter. What were those punt averages last week?? Terrible kicks setting up short field multiple times.
If the coaches don’t think he can improve on his performance this year then a replacement is necessary. He’s inconsistent in a lot of areas. His run blocking leaves a lot to be desired and his snaps are slow, sometimes in awkward places for Bo to catch.
We need a stud TE first. The lack of a quality TE makes the passing game to predictable. An upgrade at running back would also be helpful
We need to drop Forsyth, dude plays so slow
All of em need some cussing. If Bo wasn’t as good, there would be no OT. Straight crushed from fighting penalties. Way too many flags. I see the NFL as choking us on minor calls too often, so the errors we do make need to be minimal.
I think keeping him around another year is the move. But we do need to find some O-line depth, likely a FA vet or 2. Maybe a day 3 prospect. But the offense will likely be the focus for rounds 1-3. Unless they swing a trade for Garrett Wilson.
Is there even a worthy FA who might be an upgrade at Center and not break the bank for us?
Thankfully, O-line is perhaps the least of our concerns for the offseason. We need more dynamic talent at offensive skill positions and strong defensive depth. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Just build depth in the draft and cheap FA signings in case one of the five get injured, but let’s not look to replace starters there rn.
Not opposed to an upgrade. Someone on Twitter this morning pointed out that he sometimes floats snaps in shotgun, which might be contributing to Bo fleeing the pocket.
He isn’t good, but I think there are much bigger issues to deal with at this point.
He had a great second level block against the Bengals that opened up that 13 yard for Jaleel in the 3rd quarter. If he can continue to do that, accurately call out defensive alignments and add another 10-15 lbs without losing mobility then we’ve got a starting center.
It’s almost eerie how similar his path/development is to Cush when I think about it..
I noticed this week his snaps from the gun were very slow and inconsistent and kind of died in the air before it reached Bo. Is that just a coaching or Bo’s preference? Last night, the Falcons’ center was rifling it into Penix’s hands.
Dude sucks at run blocking, so I would definitely look to upgrade if possible.
There are other priorities. In no particular order, wide receiver, tight end, running back, linebacker and jones needs help at safety.
Now, the offensive line absolutely could use depth, so i’d be ok with a mid round pick or two going to it, but the money and high picks need to go elsewhere.
Not through FA… we already spend insane money on the OL, so if we upgrade, I hope it’s through the draft. Center is one of those positions where you can get a Day 1 starter on day 3 of the draft.
I think we probably have bigger needs. The defense has been exposed the past few weeks. MLB, and safety need to be upgraded and I’d like so more depth on the interior DL might also need to look at slot corner as McMillan overall this year hasn’t been great. Offense needs a good guy in the slot a TE and a RB
Dude gets bullied on run plays and is the biggest culprit for why the run game was bad. You can literally put on tape and almost every other run snap this guy is getting destroyed at the line of attack. He is also a great pass blocking Center, so it’s really weird.
Finding legit centers ain’t easy, and having a good connection between center and QB is important. Probably stay with him unless a crazy prospect falls into our lap.
He’s been good enough, and our OL as a whole has been solid. I like keeping that chemistry going. Plus I think we need more playmakers on offense. I’d rather use those resources to get a WR, RB and TE. Plus I think we need to look at improving our ILB and S positions much more than C.
Should we try and get Paxton Lynch back?
Our o-line has been by a large margin our biggest strength this year. No need to look to “upgrade” it
Besides depth, I don’t think we should change much about our O Line. They have been one of the best in the league. Obviously there is improvement to be made in some aspects but I think we should keep Luke for now.
Bradley Bozeman is gonna be a free agent in the offseason. If we can snag him for cheap then do it. If not, keep Luke. He’s not the best but he’s good enough
He’s generally been pretty bad. Just gets hidden by being in the middle of an otherwise good line, but he’s probably the worst player who gets significant snaps on offense outside of Franklin and maybe Javonte.
My answer is absolutely yes IF the right guy falls into your lap. My guy would be Jonah Monheim, C/G/OT, USC in round 2. Very smart, experienced player that could compete for Center immediately, but fill in or learn any spot on the line. We’ve been lucky with O-line health this year, but if we had 2-3 injuries the season would look pretty different.
He’s unimpressive but he’s also young and surrounded by players who can help him as he develops. With the other obvious talent gaps we have on the roster, I think we can roll with him another year and reassess the position next season
C can be a difficult spot to learn in the NFL, sometimes it takes a while. Cush didn’t really show that he was a NFL caliber starter until after a few years. We should always be looking to upgrade, and C is no different, but it’s pretty low on the list of things to be concerned about this offseason
He is at worst average. That’s pretty far down the list of concerns. Maybe bring in someone at vet minimum or a UDFA to give him some competition in camp. But truly not a position of need on a offense that when you take off the rose colored glasses is really short on playmakers compared to the top tier teams in the league
Every time I think of him, it’s him shoving the football up his ass during the Raiders game LMFAO
I would say give it another year before you upgrade. It took Cush like 4 years to develop into a top tiered center
I am perfectly fine keeping the o-line the exact same next year
Grass isn’t always greener. He’s serviceable and we have much more glaring needs to address
Who ever gets to decide would have to have 0 self respect to keep him.
When you barely notice an Offensive Lineman, he’s doing a good job. I don’t know about second contract good but one more year of cheap starting center play is solid ROI for a fifth rounder. I’m sure we will let him walk and draft another IOL to replace him. If your center is the weakest part of your OL, that’s generally a good place to be. Bonus points if he’s not a huge liability.
36 comments
I would prefer to upgrade
He is actually really good at pass blocking but his run blocking is lacking.
The fact that he is rarely talked about I think means he is doing his job most the time and he is on a super cheap contract. Give him another year.
With unlimited resources, sure, you could do better. But unless the reincarnation of Tom Nalen walks through the door, I’d rather invest in skill positions on offense, and more depth on D.
It’s not a big priority but it could benefit from an upgrade. I think RB, TE, MLB, WR, and S are our biggest needs in that specific order
Punter. We need a new punter. What were those punt averages last week?? Terrible kicks setting up short field multiple times.
If the coaches don’t think he can improve on his performance this year then a replacement is necessary. He’s inconsistent in a lot of areas. His run blocking leaves a lot to be desired and his snaps are slow, sometimes in awkward places for Bo to catch.
We need a stud TE first. The lack of a quality TE makes the passing game to predictable. An upgrade at running back would also be helpful
We need to drop Forsyth, dude plays so slow
All of em need some cussing. If Bo wasn’t as good, there would be no OT. Straight crushed from fighting penalties. Way too many flags. I see the NFL as choking us on minor calls too often, so the errors we do make need to be minimal.
I think keeping him around another year is the move. But we do need to find some O-line depth, likely a FA vet or 2. Maybe a day 3 prospect. But the offense will likely be the focus for rounds 1-3. Unless they swing a trade for Garrett Wilson.
Is there even a worthy FA who might be an upgrade at Center and not break the bank for us?
Thankfully, O-line is perhaps the least of our concerns for the offseason. We need more dynamic talent at offensive skill positions and strong defensive depth. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Just build depth in the draft and cheap FA signings in case one of the five get injured, but let’s not look to replace starters there rn.
Not opposed to an upgrade. Someone on Twitter this morning pointed out that he sometimes floats snaps in shotgun, which might be contributing to Bo fleeing the pocket.
He isn’t good, but I think there are much bigger issues to deal with at this point.
He had a great second level block against the Bengals that opened up that 13 yard for Jaleel in the 3rd quarter. If he can continue to do that, accurately call out defensive alignments and add another 10-15 lbs without losing mobility then we’ve got a starting center.
It’s almost eerie how similar his path/development is to Cush when I think about it..
I noticed this week his snaps from the gun were very slow and inconsistent and kind of died in the air before it reached Bo. Is that just a coaching or Bo’s preference? Last night, the Falcons’ center was rifling it into Penix’s hands.
Dude sucks at run blocking, so I would definitely look to upgrade if possible.
There are other priorities. In no particular order, wide receiver, tight end, running back, linebacker and jones needs help at safety.
Now, the offensive line absolutely could use depth, so i’d be ok with a mid round pick or two going to it, but the money and high picks need to go elsewhere.
Not through FA… we already spend insane money on the OL, so if we upgrade, I hope it’s through the draft. Center is one of those positions where you can get a Day 1 starter on day 3 of the draft.
I think we probably have bigger needs. The defense has been exposed the past few weeks. MLB, and safety need to be upgraded and I’d like so more depth on the interior DL might also need to look at slot corner as McMillan overall this year hasn’t been great. Offense needs a good guy in the slot a TE and a RB
Dude gets bullied on run plays and is the biggest culprit for why the run game was bad. You can literally put on tape and almost every other run snap this guy is getting destroyed at the line of attack. He is also a great pass blocking Center, so it’s really weird.
Finding legit centers ain’t easy, and having a good connection between center and QB is important. Probably stay with him unless a crazy prospect falls into our lap.
He’s been good enough, and our OL as a whole has been solid. I like keeping that chemistry going. Plus I think we need more playmakers on offense. I’d rather use those resources to get a WR, RB and TE. Plus I think we need to look at improving our ILB and S positions much more than C.
Should we try and get Paxton Lynch back?
Our o-line has been by a large margin our biggest strength this year. No need to look to “upgrade” it
Besides depth, I don’t think we should change much about our O Line. They have been one of the best in the league. Obviously there is improvement to be made in some aspects but I think we should keep Luke for now.
Bradley Bozeman is gonna be a free agent in the offseason. If we can snag him for cheap then do it. If not, keep Luke. He’s not the best but he’s good enough
He’s generally been pretty bad. Just gets hidden by being in the middle of an otherwise good line, but he’s probably the worst player who gets significant snaps on offense outside of Franklin and maybe Javonte.
My answer is absolutely yes IF the right guy falls into your lap. My guy would be Jonah Monheim, C/G/OT, USC in round 2. Very smart, experienced player that could compete for Center immediately, but fill in or learn any spot on the line. We’ve been lucky with O-line health this year, but if we had 2-3 injuries the season would look pretty different.
He’s unimpressive but he’s also young and surrounded by players who can help him as he develops. With the other obvious talent gaps we have on the roster, I think we can roll with him another year and reassess the position next season
C can be a difficult spot to learn in the NFL, sometimes it takes a while. Cush didn’t really show that he was a NFL caliber starter until after a few years. We should always be looking to upgrade, and C is no different, but it’s pretty low on the list of things to be concerned about this offseason
He is at worst average. That’s pretty far down the list of concerns. Maybe bring in someone at vet minimum or a UDFA to give him some competition in camp. But truly not a position of need on a offense that when you take off the rose colored glasses is really short on playmakers compared to the top tier teams in the league
Every time I think of him, it’s him shoving the football up his ass during the Raiders game LMFAO
I would say give it another year before you upgrade. It took Cush like 4 years to develop into a top tiered center
I am perfectly fine keeping the o-line the exact same next year
Grass isn’t always greener. He’s serviceable and we have much more glaring needs to address
Who ever gets to decide would have to have 0 self respect to keep him.
When you barely notice an Offensive Lineman, he’s doing a good job. I don’t know about second contract good but one more year of cheap starting center play is solid ROI for a fifth rounder. I’m sure we will let him walk and draft another IOL to replace him. If your center is the weakest part of your OL, that’s generally a good place to be. Bonus points if he’s not a huge liability.