NAME: Creed Humphrey
POSITION: Center
SCHOOL: Oklahoma
HEIGHT: 6’5”
WEIGHT: 320 pounds
CAREER BACKGROUND
A native of Shawnee, Oklahoma, Creed Humphrey played both center and defensive line at Shawnee High School. Following his high school career, he was a highly coveted player. He appeared in the 2017 U.S. Army All-American Game. Meanwhile, 247Sports rated him as a four-star recruit. Humphrey was also the third best prospect to come out of the state of Oklahoma in his recruiting class. After receiving many scholarship offers from multiple teams, he decided to play for the team he grew up rooting for in Norman.
Following a redshirt year in his first season at Oklahoma, Humphrey made a total of 37 starts (36 straight) for the Sooners. He was part of a dynamic offense in all three seasons, as he played in front of quarterbacks like Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts and Spencer Rattler. Humphrey was named first team All-Big 12 in both 2019 and 2020. Finally, he was also chosen as Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year in back to back years (2019, 2020).
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SCOUTING REPORT
Positives
Football IQ
Humphrey does a good job of not being focused on sliding to one area. He understands that when a twisting or stunting defender enters his gap, he must steer them away. Largely, his ability to determine and read different defensive fronts stood out. Humphrey is a clear leader on the line of scrimmage. In pre-snap, he had to help out all four teammates with their assignments at Oklahoma. Assisting them with protections, gap assignments and run game concepts led to a highly consistent amount of production up front. Having his vocal presence at the line is vital. Moreover, Humphrey provides immense leadership both on the field and in the locker room.
Strength
Humphrey has a brute strength that simply stonewalls opponents. He makes it look so effortless, with his ability to turn defenders parallel to the sideline. Furthermore, Humphrey can stop defenders in their tracks by getting under their shoulders and pushing them upwards. On the other hand, he has plenty of reps on tape where he buries opponents in the dirt. This occurs when is attempting to reach into the second level, or when pulling across the line of scrimmage. Humphrey also has a thick and dense upper body that he can rely on. His wrestling background is well documented as well, where he started at the age of four. This has been a key in him improving as a blocker throughout his career.
Athleticism
The balance can be a question for Humphrey at times. But mostly, he does well to slide and move at a rapid pace to where it is not a major issue. Humphrey and the rest of the Sooner blockers were asked to pull out in space or run counter a ton. They did a great job of opening their backs to where the running lane was supposed to be. I was significantly impressed with his movement skills in the open field. He rarely, if ever, appeared to get his wires crossed. Humphrey remained steady with his footwork when working to the second level. In addition, he has shown he can confuse opposing defenders when in the open field.
Negatives
Awareness
This issue has less to do with Humphrey’s situational awareness, and more with his timing. He can struggle to to keep his hands active or land his punches early enough at times. Elsewhere, Humphrey can become hesitant or slow when landing a hand on a defender while reaching the second level. If a ball carrier or receiver is trying to work off of his body, traffic can become muddy. Humphrey must show that he can read and react to the much more patient defenders. With speedsters and smart runners, this weakness can be hidden to a certain extent.
Length
Humphrey does not have sufficient arm length coveted in order to handle quicker defensive linemen. He hides his lack of length occasionally, by landing the first punch at the point of attack. However, Humphrey can struggle leaving his body open for free shots. More intelligent defenders have shown that they can turn him or throw him to the side fairly easily. When Humphrey cannot overpower or stun opponents, defenders can take advantage with their mix of control and balance. Finally, he has not shown as much consistently positive results in wider blocking angles, compared to short areas.
Leverage/Pad Level
Humphrey has struggled with standing straight up out of his stance. You see his feet become stagnant in moments like this. Thus, plays run to his gaps have a chance to become extremely hectic in traffic. When playing high, Humphrey attempts to bump opposing defensive linemen with his chest. Many accomplished defenders at the NFL level will not be as fooled by this, like the college opponents were. To boot, he can shuffle or slide backwards often. In these situations, Humphrey is almost too patient in his pass sets.
Chiefs Fit
Austin Reiter, the Kansas City Chiefs starting center in 2020, is entering free agency in the 2021 offseason. Quite frankly, Creed Humphrey would me a significant upgrade over what Kansas City got out of Reiter. His smarts, lengthy college starting experience and slight versatility would be a strong match with the Chiefs offense. The team needs to protect Patrick Mahomes, and investing in a top interior blocker like Humphrey would plug in a starting caliber player for at least a decade. All in all, Humphrey would transition smoothly from one explosive offensive playbook to another explosive one at the next level.
Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs draft prospect profiles throughout the winter and spring. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.
– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.
