A quarterback in the NFL is only as good as the protection that it has in front of them. Just ask Josh Allen, who had a shaky offensive line to start off his career with the Buffalo Bills. He was constantly being chased around which is how we were able to see the greatness that he has shown.
For the past two seasons, the Bills have had their most continuity up front in the Josh Allen era as they had the same starting five from 2024-2025. From left to right; it consisted of Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Connor McGovern, O’Cyrus Torrence, and Spencer Brown. With Edwards now being gone, the Bills will need to find a new left guard replacement.
However, returning four of the five starters is still excellent and one of them is getting the praise that they deserve heading into the 2026 season.
Connor McGovern gets highlighted as one of best centers ahead of 2026
Mason Cameron of Pro Football Focus (PFF) recently put together a rankings list of the best centers going into the 2026 season, and McGovern finds himself at No. 7, and Cameron focused on McGovern’s consistency and dependability.
"Consistency and dependability are undervalued traits in the NFL. McGovern personifies both, having recorded over 2,300 snaps over the past two seasons, raising his ceiling each year. This past season, McGovern earned a career-best 71.0 overall PFF grade — highlighted by his ability to stand up on true pass sets, where he produced the fifth-highest PFF pass-blocking grade (72.8) among centers." said Cameron.
This will be McGovern’s third season as the team’s starting center, and he has certainly done a great job at adjusting to the position. When Mitch Morse was released by the Bills in 2024, no one knew what the Bills were planning on doing with the position. Instead of bringing in an immediate starter, they decided to make McGovern the starter and move over from his guard position.
Despite the Bills drafted Sedrick Van Pran-Granger out of Georgia in the 2024 NFL Draft, Buffalo rolled with McGovern as the center and he has become one of the best protectors in the league.
Bills fans should be extremely thankful Connor McGovern is back in Buffalo
There was a time when Bills fans thought that McGovern was going to be out of Buffalo considering the fact that his contract was expiring going into free agency. Luckily, before the league’s legal tampering period opened up, the Bills managed to land a four-year extension with McGovern to keep him as the anchor of the unit moving forward.
Even though there will be a new left guard on the line this year, it’s easier to replace that position rather than center, that is constantly communicating with the quarterback pre-snap.
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