The Washington Commanders made a surprise move this offseason, releasing former Pro Bowl center Tyler Biadasz from Wisconsin and re-signing his backup. They then drafted Michigan State’s Matt Gulbin which looked like a depth pick at the time, but it’s starting to feel like the Spartan center is going to compete for the starting job.
When they drafted Gulbin, the Commanders were thrilled that he was able to fall to them in the sixth round, and the front office made sure to tell him that on the phone right before making the pick.
Gulbin was an All-Big Ten performer and captain in just one season at Michigan State which followed a solid career at Wake Forest where he started at guard over his final two years there. He made the move to full-time center at Michigan State and that’s where he looked most comfortable.
Gulbin stood out from day one.
It took Gulbin zero time to fit in with the Spartans and win his teammates over both on and off the field, being voted team captain within his first semester. Now he’s going to have a chance to do that with his new team in Washington.
And I have a feeling he’s going to fit in just fine.
Will Matt Gulbin be the Day 1 starter at center?
After reading Dean Jones’ article calling Gulbin “the best Commanders pick that no one’s talking about” on Riggo’s Rag, it was clear to me that Washington fans think about this pick the same way a lot of Spartan fans do.
Gulbin gives off Brian Allen vibes in the way he plays and the fact that he was a Day 3 pick and won the starting job at center almost immediately, snapping to a superstar quarterback. The latest Spartan center draft pick is vicious in the way he plays much like Allen and he’s a Day 3 pick who has a very good shot at winning the starting job where he’d be snapping to a superstar.
Jones implied in his Riggo’s Rag article about Gulbin that releasing Biadasz earlier this offseason probably should have prompted the search for a new starter, but the organization decided to re-sign backup center Nick Allegretti and take a chance in the draft.
I’m sure they were hoping to land one of their top center targets and Gulbin had to be atop their list if they were “praying” he dropped to them at No. 209. Nine centers went ahead of him but only four went in the first four rounds. Gulbin was their guy and they drafted him in the hopes that he would push Allegretti for the starting job.
Allegretti is an eight-year NFL veteran who has been mostly a backup after getting drafted in the seventh round back in 2019 by the Chiefs. He’s started a majority of two seasons while playing a backup role in the rest and he just turned 30 with his last start coming in 2024.
I think that there’s a very good chance that Gulbin pushes for that starting job and that’s not all that unusual for centers who end up getting drafted.
I’ll go with my gut here and say that Allegretti wins the job out of camp but Gulbin eventually takes over.
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