> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Analysis: Who Should Seahawks Start at Center With Jalen Sundell Set to Return? - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-seahawks-who-should-start-center-jalen-sundell-return/ - Published: 2025-12-13T20:55:58.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:16:49.000Z - Author: Corbin Smith - Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, Jalen Sundell, Olu Oluwatimi \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2198"\] ![ Seattle Seahawks center Jalen Sundell (61) blocks for quarterback Sam Darnold (14) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/usatsi_27209282-format-original.jpg) Seattle Seahawks center Jalen Sundell (61) blocks for quarterback Sam Darnold (14) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images \[/caption\] RENTON, Wash. - Going in the opposite direction of many NFL teams in mid-December, the Seattle Seahawks continue to get healthier on both sides of the football with several injured players returning to practice over the past couple of weeks. Among those back in helmet and shoulder pads, center Jalen Sundell started his 21-day window for activation off injured reserve on Wednesday, receiving a questionable designation on Seattle’s final injury report on Friday after being a full participant in the last two practices of the week. After missing the past four games with Olu Oluwatimi replacing him at the pivot position, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak offered no insight on what the team would do at center moving forward, exhibiting no shortage of gamesmanship heading into Sunday’s clash with Indianapolis. “We have two starting centers, in my opinion,” Kubiak said on Thursday. “We have two starting players that have led our group in an excellent way. So, it's a discussion we have to have as coaches.” “We're going to work through the roster moves over the next couple days. There'll be a center out there on Sunday, I promise,” Macdonald coyly added on Friday. With four games left to play and the 10-3 Seahawks entrenched in a race for an NFC West title and the No. 1 seed in the conference, who should be snapping to Sam Darnold in Week 14 and beyond? **Case For Jalen Sundell** Flashing his versatility during training camp by taking starting reps at both center and right guard with the first-team offense, Sundell seized every opportunity presented to him, capitalizing on Oluwatimi’s back injury to win the center job outright. Starting each of Seattle’s first nine games, the second-year blocker out of North Dakota State played a pivotal role in dramatically improved pass protection for quarterback Darnold, as the offensive line only allowed only 10 sacks during that span, tied for the fewest in the NFL. For his part, Sundell yielded only six pressures on 257 pass blocking snaps and didn’t give up a single sack, ranking seventh among qualified centers with a strong 98.7% Pass Block Efficiency rate. Per Pro Football Focus charting, he accounted for 10.4% of the pressures allowed on Darnold, the lowest percentage along the offensive line for the Seahawks. In comparison, while Oluwatimi has not been a liability in pass protection in five games, he has yielded more pressures (seven) on roughly 60% of the snaps compared to Sundell. Struggling at times to pick up opposing stunts and blitzes, his 97.6% Pass Block Efficiency rate ranks 19th out of 26 qualified centers since Week 10, while PFF has charged him with north of a 17% pressure share, which sits 21st out of 25 centers playing on offensive lines that have yielded at least 30 pressures during that time. By every metric, Sundell has been significantly better keeping Darnold clean and upright, which coincided with the Seahawks offense averaging 30.5 points per game through Week 10. **Case For Olu Oluwatimi** After stepping into the lineup for Seattle in Week 10, Oluwatimi instantly helped spark Seattle’s struggling run game with a more physical, punishing style that catered well to maintaining and finishing blocks. In each of his four starts while Sundell has been on injured reserve, the Seahawks have surpassed the 100-yard mark on the ground, building easily their longest streak of the season in that department while averaging 125.8 rushing yards per game, the 12th best mark in the league during that time. The ground attack has also been much more efficient with him at the pivot position, averaging 4.5 yards per carry, good for ninth overall, jumping more than half a yard from a 3.8 yards per carry average in the first nine games. Pass protection-wise, even with Oluwatimi not being quite as sharp in some regards compared to Sundell, the third-year blocker hasn’t given up any sacks in the past five games and also hasn’t been hit with any penalties, playing disciplined, assignment-sound football. Additionally, based on PFF’s True Pass Set metric, the two centers had near identical Pass Blocking Efficiency rates on plays with less than four rushers, play action, screens, short drop backs, and time-to-throws under two seconds, as Sundell posted a 97.0% and Oluwatimi posted a 96.9% with both being in the same ballpark ranking-wise compared to their league peers. **Final Verdict** Based on the numbers, it would seem as if the Seahawks decision on whether to plug Sundell back into the lineup or keep Oluwatimi in his stead would boil down to preference, as one player has been better overall in pass protection and the other has been on the field as the run game has come to life. But as is often the case, there’s more than meets the eye in that regard, and digging deeper into the numbers to go with film observation provides more ammunition for Sundell to resume his role. For one, Oluwatimi’s presence in helping the run game only carries so much weight, as Sports Info Solutions has charged him with six blown blocks in five games. Meanwhile, Sundell had seven blown blocks in nine starts, which equates to a significant 0.6% better blown block rate. It’s also worth noting that the Seahawks have actually been worse creating room to operate for Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet since Sundell’s injury, as the team ranks 26th with a 0.96 yards before contact average. In comparison, the offense produced 1.07 yards before contact in the first nine games, suggesting that blocking actually was better despite the jump in yards per attempt over the past five weeks. Secondly, while it wouldn’t be fair at all to blame Oluwatimi individually and other factors have been at play for the regression, Seattle’s offense has simply not been as potent in the four-plus games since Sundell’s injury. They have averaged nearly three points fewer per game, dropped from second-fewest quarterback pressures (83) to 13th (45), and seen their red zone touchdown rate plummet from 67% (sixth-best) to 42.9% (25th) during the past four games. Though he’s far from the culprit for those sharp declines, his far more inconsistent performance in the pass protection department has contributed by putting Darnold under duress with higher frequency, including inside the opposing 20-yard line. There may be some truth to Kubiak’s words that the Seahawks have two starter-caliber centers, which obviously presents a great situation given the team’s issues at the position for much of the past decade. But right now, with all due to respect to Oluwatimi, it would be a major mistake to activate Sundell and not start him for the final home stretch, and it really shouldn’t be a hard choice.