Creed Humphrey has been even better than advertised

In a small sample size, the rookie center has looked like a veteran star

One of my favorite things about the draft is that I don’t follow college football. That may seem counterintuitive, but it means I’m able to draw fresh conclusions about every name I see in the draft process. I don’t have biases that come from years of discussing prospects, because honestly I’ve never heard of most of them before I watch them for the first time.

This was the case for me when the Chiefs drafted Creed Humphrey. I was familiar with the name, and that was about it. And so, I was able to review his college snaps with a totally clean slate. Upon doing so, I walked away very impressed and thinking that the Chiefs may have finally found their Mitch Morse replacement. Those are high expectations to put on a draft pick, but Humphrey’s college career (with a huge sample size of starting on an excellent OL and multiple awards) made him seem like someone who could fulfill them. And by seizing the starting role immediately, Humphrey only increased the hopes that he could come in and play at a solid level immediately (a tough, tough task for a rookie).

Through a pair of preseason games, Humphrey has not only met my expectations and hopes… he’s actually exceeded them.

Humphrey was on the field for 40 snaps in Week 2 of the preseason after seeing only 11 snaps in week 1. He got a chance to show off more of the athleticism that makes him such a perfect fit for Andy Reid’s screen game during that time, with several plays where he was asked to get into space and track down a secondary defender. His excellent movement skills along with his intelligence allow him to erase defenders from plays in those situations.

When I charted every snap of Humphrey’s in the first week of preseason, I noted that he didn’t have a single “loss” during his 11 snaps. That’s obviously impressive, but it was such a small sample size that it should be taken with the tiniest grain of salt.

(NOTE: if you don’t know how I chart offensive linemen snaps, a primer can be found in the link. Basically, I chart every single snap for pass block and run block wins/losses, neutral plays, and pressures/hits/sacks allowed. Losses are more important than wins, as a loss can blow up a play and a “neutral” likely allows the play to be run as planned. Also, screens are charted as run blocks)

Now we’re 40 snaps later and Humphrey is still pitching a shutout this preseason.

If you’re asking yourself, “wait, is he saying Humphrey didn’t have an actual loss once in 40 snaps? That seems crazy,” you’re correct on both counts. I can’t remember off the top of my head the most consecutive snaps I’ve reviewed without a loss, but it feels like 51 (when combining the two games) has to be approaching it.

It has to be noted, yet again, that this is preseason and Humphrey hasn’t necessarily been facing the “A” team for every snap. So to expect this kind of production moving forward feels unreasonable.

That said, this isn’t a situation where Humphrey’s numbers are better than his play. He’s been nothing short of fantastic. He’s stepped in and immediately shown that his intelligence and technique in college translate to the NFL level’s faster play. Watch Humphrey here (to the left of the “highlighted” player, Trey Smith) on the first snap of the game.

Humphrey is not covered by a DL here, so he doesn’t have anyone to block out of the gate. The simple thing would be to climb to the next level immediately and seek out a linebacker or secondary player to block. However, with one linebacker taking the wrong gap Humphrey isn’t needed right away there either. So instead, he helps both Thuney and Smith with their blocks to ensure a sizeable lane for CEH to run through. His help with Thuney in particular is crucial to a nice gain to start things off.

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Humphrey has a clear understanding of angles, gaps, and where he needs to be in order to facilitate the run game. It’s a trait that he was strong at in college and that has continued in the pros.

Here, Humphrey is initially sliding left to try and climb to the second level and block 25. However, good recognition from the defender leads to him trying to attack the gap Humphrey is sliding away from to try and meet the runner in the backfield.

Rather than panic and grab/hold the defender on his way past, Humphrey immediately transitions to directing the defender around the play. His excellent base/feet serve him well here as he’s able to cut like a receiver running a whip route (OK, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration) and calmly redirect the defender harmlessly behind the runner. It’s a win in a tough spot that he makes easy, and is demonstrative of how smart he plays the game.

Humphrey met his expectations as a run blocker with his brain. It’s his brawn that has been surprising. Humphrey was known to be more of a technician in college, with some question as to his ability to generate movement up front. So far, at least playing next to Smith and Thuney, that hasn’t been an issue at all.

When participating in straight doubles or in combo blocks (starting as a double team and then climbing to the second level), Humphrey has shown the ability to generate plenty of movement up front. It’s something he was asked to do in college, but with his size being only average there was a question as to whether he would do it at the next level. So far, he’s done it well and been a major asset to the run game. It’s also a way he’s exceeded expectations early.

Pass protection was a bit more of a question mark after the first preseason game. While Humphrey showed his smarts in helping and did a nice job walling off defenders as part of double teams, he wasn’t asked to do much 1x1 in the first week. This is also an area where the question as to whether he would have the power to hold up individually against bigger defensive tackles would come into play.

Humphrey had a few chances to show off that while he’s not a huge center (though being about 6’5” and 310 pounds doesn’t make him a small center either), his base and technique serve him well in individual matchups.

Here, Humphrey is matched up against a 330-pound defensive tackle in Leki Fotu who, while not a high-quality pass rusher, is one of those bigger players who was feared to give Humphrey problems. He tries to power Humphrey back but is unable to make any headway whatsoever, as Humphrey does an excellent job getting low and maintaining a wide base while resetting his feet multiple times against the attempted bull rush.

The short story with Humphrey is that he’s been excellent in every facet of the game to-date, and while he has yet to face elite competition watching him thrive at the pro level is wildly encouraging. This is especially true when seeing him do things that there was some question about with regards to power/leverage. He’s exceeded expectations there in multiple ways, while still being the guy we were hoping to see in other areas of his game.

Humphrey has shown savvy that is well beyond his experience in dealing with stunts, movement, and other games up front.

The way Humphrey works with Thuney and Smith makes him look more like a 5-year veteran than a rookie, and it’s one way that he’s differentiated himself from fellow rookies Lucas Niang and Smith. While both of them have played very well to date, both have made a mistake or two against stunts and have shown a few holes in their game (lunging with Smith, occasionally letting guys get into his pads with Niang) that reflect their youth and development that needs to occur.

Not so with Humphrey. I’ve charted 51 snaps by him now and can honestly say that the only thing that came close to a mistake on his part was a blitz that was probably not his responsibility. It’s been bananas to watch.

The Chiefs are going to be under the spotlight this year for starting 3 rookies from center to right tackle (barring Remmers managing to come back and win the starting RT job, which looks unlikely at this point). However, if Humphrey continues to play at even close to the level he’s playing at during preseason action, it’s not going to feel like Kansas City has 3 rookies, at least with regards to the center position. Rather, it will feel like they massively upgraded that spot.