The Arizona Cardinals know who their starting center is — Rodney Hudson. What is unclear still is who will be the backup center this coming season.
As of right now, it is Sean Harlow, who started games at left guard and at center last season. However, Harlow is undersized at 6-4 and 284 lbs. That is more the size of a big tight end than an offensive lineman.
They brought in Billy Price for a visit but nothing has come of that yet.
The Cardinals are looking at one of their draft picks as perhaps an option to back up Hudson.
Sixth-round pick Lecitus Smith played left guard in college at Virginia Tech.
He took reps at center in rookie minicamp this past weekend, as shown in a brief moment of the team’s video of rookie tight end Trey McBride being mic’d up.
Smith is 6-3 and 314 lbs. Since acquiring Hudson, the Cardinals seemingly have wanted size and strength at center. That’s why Max Garcia was Hudson’s backup.
Quentin Harris, the team’s vice president for player personnel, believes that Smith is the one player among their five Day 3 draft picks, who has the chance to become a Pro Bowl player.
Now, it is common for the Cardinals to give young offensive linemen work at a new position, creating positional flexibility, which is a must for their reserve linemen.
This is something to pay attention to later on this offseason. When OTAs and minicamp come around, reporters aren’t typically allowed to speak on positions and rotations, but that changes in training camp.
The longer the Cardinals go without adding a veteran backup center, the more possible it is they could lean on a sixth-round pick to back up Hudson.
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