Matt Gulbin may not have arrived in Washington with much fanfare, but the Commanders’ sixth-round center has a real chance to turn training camp into his coming-out party.
Selected No. 209 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, Gulbin spent the spring working behind Nick Allegretti, who enters camp with the inside track at center. Even so, Washington has made it clear that job is still up for grabs, and Gulbin’s college résumé suggests he might make the battle more interesting than expected.
The former Wake Forest guard transferred to Michigan State and started 11 games at center in 2025, putting together a strong season against Big Ten competition. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 82.6, along with an 87.8 pass-blocking grade and an 81.9 run-blocking grade. Over 727 offensive snaps, he allowed five pressures and two sacks.
His weekly grades back up the season-long numbers. Gulbin posted a grade of at least 70 in six games and never dipped below 61.9, a sign that his production wasn’t built on one outlier performance.
That versatility across the interior line gives him a path to becoming Washington’s primary backup, and it also helps his case at center, where Allegretti has limited experience after spending most of his NFL career at guard.
Still, Gulbin has work to do. The rookie has shorter-than-ideal arms and limited athleticism, and the real test will come once the pads go on and he has to prove he can handle the weekly punishment that comes with life in the NFC East trenches.
For now, Allegretti remains the favorite. But Gulbin has a better shot at pushing him than a sixth-round pick usually does, and that makes him a name worth watching when camp opens. Kaytron Allen was the obvious rookie candidate to emerge as the offseason program’s standout, but Gulbin could end up being the surprise of training camp.
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