[RunKC]

I think we already have our starting C. Nick Allegretti is idea for the job IMO. He just didn’t get a shot to play it last year bc he had to play G due to injuries and Reiter was still here.

He’s an okay guard but doesn’t have enough quickness to do the stunts and screens that Andy likes. He’s an ideal fit at C.

Here’s the scouting report on him from Terry Delp:

“His best tape was at guard because he’s just a big, physical, mauler type guy,” Delp explained. “He’s really fun to watch, he gets after it, plays football hard. But he is athletic enough and versatile enough, you saw it in the East West (Game) to play center and he did a really good job at it.

“He played a little heavier during the year, so guard looked better and he lost some weight for the all-star game and looked really good at center. Definitely looking at a two-position guy in the NFL.”

One thing that influenced the Chiefs decision on Allegretti was his background as high school wrestler. It informs his understanding of leverage in a big way.

“It’s one of the first things we look at, we have to type in a report of high school stuff and wrestling is one of them,” Delp said. “You get excited when you see that in an offensive lineman because they understand leverage, it’s a mindset, it’s toughness. They really get an understanding of leverage so it’s a plus for sure.”

Another thing that the Chiefs value in Allegretti’s skill set is his intelligence. He may be a bit of a bore to to Delp, but his football smarts are top notch.

“He’s just a typical boring offensive lineman,” Delp said of Allegretti. “He’s a really smart one. He’s a 42 on his Wonderlic. He’s really into challenging himself with puzzles and all that stuff.”

Delp had the luxury of seeing Allegretti play center at the East-West Shring Game. That certainly helped his projection with the Chiefs. His smarts are also part of the reason that the Chiefs think Allegretti one day could be playing center for the team.

“There’s certain things that go into it to say he could transition to it,” Delp explained. “There’s athletic ability, the mental is big for center. Then, can he lead the offensive line. You’ve got to have confidence to make the calls, you’ve got to really lead that group and the group can tell if you don’t have command of it. That all goes in to it.

“His intelligence, he’s a natural leader, he’s a leader of the O-line room, the guys gravitate toward him, so there’s no question there. It was easy for me because you get to see him do it. The hard part is when you got to project it, and sometimes you’ve just got to go off athletic ability, intelligence, stuff like that.”