Obviously, things aren’t exactly going great with Elgton Jenkins and Sean Rhyan in Green Bay this year. At the moment, they are the Packers’ number one and number two center options for the 2025 season,
but there’s no promise that either will be on the team in 2026.
Rhyan is in a contract year, while Jenkins’ deal carries a $24.8 million cap hit in 2026. If the Packers choose to move on from Jenkins next offseason, it’s one way that the team — currently set to be over the salary cap in 2026 — can net $20 million in immediate cap relief.
So with that in mind, I wanted to take this off-day coming off the bye week to look at what centers could be headed Green Bay’s way via college football. As I went through the consensus draft board, I found that only five centers were ranked among the top 200 prospects in the upcoming class.
It doesn’t appear to be a strong class, at least as of now, but let’s take you through these five players, in order of their consensus board ranking, and give you a preview of what is to come at the position in the 2026 draft.
#34: Connor Lew, Auburn
Lew is a true junior who is expected to come in at just over 6’3” and 300 pounds. The former high school All-American originally committed to Miami before switching his commitment to Auburn in December of his senior year.
As a true freshman, Lew jumped into the lineup as an injury replacement in Week 8. For his effort in six starts that year, he was named an All-SEC freshman. Over the last two years, he’s been a full-time starter for the Tigers.
Recently, he’s been dealing with an MCL sprain that has limited his efficiency, but he did play well when fully healthy against the Baylor Bears in the season opener. Worth noting, the Packers sent a scout to watch Auburn and Texas A&M face off earlier this season.
#70: Jake Slaughter, Florida
Slaughter is a redshirt senior who is expected to come in between 6’4” and 6’5” and a little shy of 300 pounds. There’s some debate in the scouting community about whether he’s a Pro Football Focus darling or a true NFL prospect. He will probably be a highly debated player once draft season comes full swing.
The center grew up about 30 miles south of Gainesville, raised by a father who played football at Tennessee-Martin. He originally committed to Florida State before switching to his hometown Florida Gators in December of his senior season.
His first taste of consistent playing time came as a redshirt sophomore in 2023, when he was a part-time starter. Beginning in 2024, though, he was not only a full-time starter but also a team captain. Last year, he was named first-team All-SEC and also first-team All-American.
He’s already completed his bachelor’s degree and has been a member of several honor roll lists during his college career. He was also included in the preseason watch list for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award.
Pro Football Focus currently has Slaughter as the highest-graded center in the SEC. Green Bay sent a scout to Florida @ LSU in Week 3, so they’ve seen him play live.
#80: Parker Brailsford, Alabama
Putting on weight has been a multi-year process for Brailsford at the college level. He’s expected to measure in at around 6’2” and 290 pounds with short arms. Clearly, he’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea at the position.
He has been consistent during his college career, though, so some teams will be willing to roll the dice on the undersized player.
Brailsford originally enrolled at Washington. There, he took a redshirt year to develop his body before starting as a redshirt freshman on the Huskies team that went to the national championship and earned the Joe Moore Award, given to the number one offensive line in college football. When head coach Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama the following offseason, Brailsford followed him to Tuscaloosa.
The redshirt junior is now a captain at Alabama.
#111: Iapani Laloulu, Oregon
As a prep, Laloulu was a five-star prospect out of Honolulu, Hawaii and earned high school All-American honors. The true junior is expected to measure in a little short of 6’2” but around 330 pounds. File him under short, but not small.
He split time between center and guard early in his career, but took over as a full-time center in 2024. Like Slaughter, he was also named to the preseason Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award watchlist. Inside the program, he goes by “Poncho.”
#185: Bryce Foster, Kansas
This is probably the most interesting center prospect in the class. Foster, a Texas native, won the track and field Gatorade Player of the Year Award at the high school level for what he did as a thrower. He won the state shot put event as a senior and finished third in the discus.
Foster ended up starting his college career at Texas A&M, where his brother played after a transfer from Yale, as they let the five-star recruit play football and throw for the track and field team in the spring. He started as a true freshman in 2021 and was named an All-SEC freshman.
In his sophomore year, he tore his ACL and took a medical redshirt. He returned as a starter in 2023, but A&M wanted him to focus on football only for the 2024 season, leading to his transfer to Kansas. With the Jayhawks, he continues to play football and throw.
Last year, he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors while also reaching nationals in the shot put for the track team. There are some questions about whether he’s all in on football, but the redshirt senior is expected to put up big numbers at the combine and is estimated to be around 6’4” and 310 pounds.
Other Options
Beyond just current centers who are ranked inside the top 200 prospects on the consensus board, three other players came up in conversations when I asked around about the upcoming center class, so I do want to touch on them.
Trey Zuhn III of Texas A&M is currently playing tackle, but has shorter arms and is expected to eventually kick inside as a pro. Zuhn actually split time in practice between tackle and center for the Aggies during camp, so the transition already seems to be underway. At the moment, he’s ranked 172nd on the consensus board.
Duke tackle Brian Parker, like Zuhn, is also expected to kick inside, either to guard or center, at the next level, too. Unlike Zuhn, though, Parker is only a junior, so there’s no assurance that he will declare for the 2026 draft. He’s currently ranked as the 239th prospect in the class. His cousin is also a former Duke basketball player, Dereck Lively, who currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks.
The final player I want to highlight is Logan Jones of Iowa, who some believe the media is too low on. Jones converted from defensive tackle to center when Tyler Linderbaum went pro after the 2021 season. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors last year. He just misses the top 200 cut, as he’s ranked 213rd on the consensus board.
