Olu Oluwatimi’s season seemed destined to end as a backup. However, the surprising retirement of Connor Williams during the season gave the former Michigan player the starting job. Oluwatimi was solid, but not enough to calm the hearts of fans who, basically since Max Unger’s departure, have dreamed of having some stability at the position.
In 2025, Olu will enter training camp with starting status, unlike last year when he was competing with Nick Harris who joined the team at FA. He is not a unanimous choice among the fan base, but would he be able to stabilize the center role in Seattle?
Statistics and ranking among centers
During the 2024 season, Oluwatimi played in 12 games for the Seattle Seahawks, playing as a starter in the last eight. Among NFL centers (64 players with significant volume), he has recorded:
Overall PFF grade: 64.2 — ranking 24th
Pass-block grade: 54.8 (52nd out of 64)
Run-block grade: 65.8 (25th out of 64)
Penalties: 2 (23rd out of 64);
Allowed 0 sacks and only 8 total pressures (3 hits and 5 hurries);
Pass Sets: Types Used by Oluwatimi
Throughout the season, Oluwatimi has alternated between different types of pass sets, depending on the scheme and the opponent’s pressure:
1. Short Set
When used: Against defensive tackles lined up in 0-tech or 1-tech.
How it works: Olu moves quickly after the snap to initiate almost immediate contact with the rusher, trying to reduce the opponent’s space and reaction time.
Effectiveness: Works well when the rusher tries to win by bull rush, because Olu can anchor quickly. However, it leaves him vulnerable to stunts and lateral deviations.
He tried to make the quickest contact and lost on a spin move. The hit he gave up was on the key play against the Vikings and ended in an interception by Geno Smith.
2. Vertical Set
When used: In long 3rd down situations or against more explosive rushers who attack the A-gap or B-gap.
How it works: Olu drops back with two controlled steps before engaging, buying time to read blitzes or inside moves.
Effectiveness: Allowing field vision, it protects well against design switches, but demands more from his “anchor” — where he sometimes loses balance when facing low-pad level rushers.
3. Jump Set
When used: Occasionally on RPOs and fast-paced plays.
How it works: Involves an immediate forward run with a direct punch, trying to aggressively disrupt the rusher’s timing.
Effectiveness: Shown flashes of this technique — good against less skilled rushers, but risky against experienced pass rushers.
Anchor: Base, Weight Distribution, and Power Absorption
The anchor is the ability of the OL to absorb the force of a bull rush without compromising his position. Oluwatimi shows good foundations in this area, with room for refinement:
1. Wide base and bent knees:
Olu has a naturally good base: feet hip-width apart, knees bent, and hips low. This creates a stable center of gravity.
This stance is critical to his ability to sustain the block after the initial punch, especially against stronger nose tackles.
2. Weight distribution and “drop anchor”
When he feels the bull rush, he immediately shifts his weight to his heels, planting his feet and driving his hips back. This “drop anchor” technique is effective in short set plays.
His biggest vulnerability is in vertical set situations, where he drops too far back before anchoring and sometimes gets pushed 1 to 2 yards into the pocket before stabilizing.
3. Post-contact recovery:
Olu is resilient even when he loses initial control: his balance and core strength allow him to recover the anchor after impact, as long as he doesn’t lose hand contact. This translated into zero sacks allowed in 2024, even with some pressure generated on long plays.
Hand Positioning: control, precision and impact
Oluwatimi presents a traditional approach to using his hands, focusing on chest control and post-contact stabilization. His style follows the principles of technique that prioritize:
1. Inside hands, tight elbows:
Olu seeks to hit the “opponent’s chest” with his palms facing inward, which allows him to maximize leverage and maintain the legality of contact.
On plays where he wins the handoff right after the snap, his block holds up consistently for 3+ seconds — valuable pocket time for the QB.
2. Torque Punch:
His initial punch isn’t explosive, but it is technical. He uses precision rather than violence, which helps him against rushers who try to win with brute force.
However, in speed-to-power situations, Olu sometimes gives his hands away too early, which allows defenders to use swipes, clubs or arm-overs to neutralize his control.
However, if he misses the timing of that initial contact, he lacks the athleticism to recover.
3. Re-fitting
When he loses the initial contact, Olu has shown an ability to re-fit his hands — especially in the run game, when he re-fits to seal off the defender.
He makes contact too far outside and allows the DL to get into his frame. Olu corrects this and repositions his hands on the inside to control the snap.
Brain on the Line: Oluwatimi’s processing and Football IQ
One of the pillars of an NFL center’s game is mental ability — and Olu Oluwatimi has been a promising standout in this regard in 2024.
It’s always good to remember that he has a lot of snaps in college, playing for Air Force, Virginia, and Michigan. In this play, Christian Haynes doesn’t notice the stunt coming from the blitzers and would easily leave the gap open and the RB would have two to block on the play. Olu, in addition to doing his part, redirects and adjusts the RG to maintain the integrity of the pocket.
Recognition of fronts and blitzes
Olu demonstrated good pre-snap reading by identifying blitz disguises and adjusting protection calls, a crucial role for the position. In formations with over fronts or hybrid lines (e.g. 5-man fronts with a retreating edge), he was able to redirect the OL’s slide and organize the protection quickly.
Against teams like the Rams and 49ers, who abuse sim pressures and late switches, Olu reacted well most of the time, including relocating the guard with adjusted point calls.
Post-snap processing speed
After the snap, his ability to identify inside stunts, twists and DLs exchanging gaps was reasonably efficient, although not perfect:
In looping stunt plays, he showed lateral vision to follow the second rusher, even if he was not always able to block successfully.
In protections with an RB helping with the blitz pickup, Olu coordinated the responsibilities well, allowing the quarterback to maintain a clean pocket on crucial third downs.
Athletic Ability
Reach blocking is key to the zone scheme and extremely difficult to execute. The OL needs to get to the outside shoulder of the DL and this requires explosion off the snap. Olu lacks that here.
Although it is not his greatest quality, he can still execute good blocks at the second level.
No blocks executed, but excellent at occupying space and trying to help downfield.
Run game
Engagement and initial punch: his run-blocking is his strong point, with good explosion in the first 2–3 steps; this initial punch opens space for the RB to gain an advantage.
Post-engagement movement: effective in double-teams and with discreet lateral movements when pulling; creates an advantage on inside plays.
Something that Seattle’s OL has been lacking (for quite some time) is physical imposition. Here, on a fourth down situation, Olu doesn’t move the defender many yards, but he is able to be effective in creating the space needed for Zach Charbonnet to convert.
Projection for 2025
Oluwatimi has a good advantage among the names on Seattle’s roster. The team had chances to bring in more impactful names in the FA and in the Draft, and didn’t. This would imply two views, either a “neglect” of the role, or confidence in Olu.
Jalen Sundell had some snaps as a starter, thanks to his great athletic potential. The possible transition of Christian Haynes to the center role is still being considered. I confess that from what has been reported, this “transition” seems to have been very timid. More like a safeguard than a real project for the future.
✍️ Conclusion
Unless Seattle brings in a veteran via FA or trade, I believe the spot will be Olu’s. Sundell offers athleticism that Olu lacks, but the former fifth-round pick brings a wealth of experience as a center to the team, which results in excellent football IQ, blitz processing, and stunt handling, and I think that should be the difference in him earning the job. Additionally, Olu made a nice jump in the running game from his rookie season to his sophomore season, even though he’s not a great athlete.