For about 24 hours, Max Unger became an afterthought -- the “other guy” involved in the blockbuster trade that sent tight end Jimmy Graham from the New Orleans Saints to the Seattle Seahawks.
But the new Saints center can be much, much more than that.
ESPN scouting insider Matt Williamson called Unger a “great addition” and correctly pointed out that it could help the Saints fortify their aging interior offensive line -- which Saints coach Sean Payton identified as the team’s No. 2 need last month.
Unger, 28, is a two-time Pro Bowler (2012, 2013) who has earned a reputation as one of the NFL’s best centers during his six-year career. He was first-team All-Pro in 2012.
However, the 6-foot-5, 305-pounder has battled injuries -- including knee and ankle injuries that sidelined him for 10 regular-season games last season. The Seahawks played well without Unger, which reportedly was among the reasons they felt they could afford to part ways.
“Injuries have been an issue for Unger, but he is still in his prime and among the best centers in the league,” Williamson said. “He started his career at Oregon as an offensive tackle and is an excellent athlete for the center position, which really shows up when he is blocking in space in the run game. And his time at OT shows up huge in protection.
“Over the [Drew] Brees era, maybe no team in the league has invested more in the interior offensive line spots, which makes perfect sense, as Brees with his height issues needs a clean pocket to see. Plus, he is awesome at stepping up in the pocket when the edge rush crashes down on him. Also, maybe by adding Unger, the Saints will then cut or restructure one or both of their guards [Jahri Evans and Ben Grubbs], which has been talked about for quite a while now.”
Williamson is dead-on about how much the Saints have valued those interior line spots. Their play up front was part of what made New Orleans truly special when guards Evans and Carl Nicks were in their All-Pro primes from 2009 to '11.
But current guards Evans and Grubbs have shown signs of regression -- leading to the possibility that one or both could be released. The Saints were also looking to upgrade from veteran center Jonathan Goodwin, a free agent.
Those guys were especially inconsistent in pass protection last year -- a big reason why Brees and the Saints' offense struggled to get the ball down the field consistently. Graham averaged a career-low 10.5 yards per catch last season, which minimized his impact.
I remain skeptical about the trade because I think Graham remains one of the NFL’s top offensive weapons, and he was part of what made the Saints so unique at their peak in 2011, among other years.
However, the Saints' offense was losing its luster in 2014 even with Graham on the field, especially when he practically vanished over the last five games of the season.
It’s worth pointing out that the Saints didn’t just dump Graham with nothing in return. Swapping Graham and a fourth-round pick for Unger and a first-rounder is not a bad return.
Pro Football Focus’ Sam Monson and Mike Renner gave the Saints only a C-plus for the deal in this piece
(which requires Insider access) -- mostly because PFF is so high on Graham. But they heaped Unger with praise.
“Unger is one of the league's best centers and ended the season with a PFF grade of plus-12.4, good enough for fourth in the league despite missing 10 games,” they wrote. “The Seattle offense looked completely different when he was on the field, and his one poor game of the season came during the Super Bowl, which was a big reason Seattle fell short.
“Unger has been in the top four of the PFF center rankings in two of the past three seasons, but the year he wasn't (2013) he was barely average, surrendering three sacks and struggling to hold together an offensive line that was dealing with inferior players at both guard spots. What the Saints do with their guards going forward could have a big impact on Unger's ability to hit his best form, as those were trouble spots for New Orleans this season.”
The Hawaiian-born Unger was a second-round draft pick out of Oregon in 2009 and was one of only three Seahawks players who predated coach Pete Carroll. Unger became an immediate starter and has started all 75 of the games he’s played, including the playoffs.
However, he played in just one game in 2010 because of a toe injury and just nine games this past season and postseason combined. Unger’s ankle injury sidelined him for the final six regular-season games in 2014 before he returned for the playoffs.
Unger is scheduled to fly into New Orleans next week to take a physical before the deal is fully approved. There is no reason to think that will be an issue, since Unger finished last season healthy.