Just a few days before we wrote this, Creed Humphrey became the highest-paid center in NFL history.

For $72m, he has just signed a four-year extension with the KC Chiefs. It probably wasn’t the only eye-wateringly large offer he was wrangling with either. This does beg the question — is he worth that much? Our answer is yes. We’ve got a few reasons why too.

Better with than without
Creed Humphrey is, without a doubt, one of the best centers in NFL history. Any team that has him will be instantly better because of it. This is a key reason why he features in virtually everybody’s 2024 NFL fantasy football teams. This was probably at the forefront of the negotiator’s minds when they were trying to get that contract extension. They knew that if they didn’t snap up Creed, some other team would, and this would just be more of a challenge for the KC Chiefs going forward. They don’t want that.

Dependable
In the NFL, you need players who go out there and give it their all every single game. You don’t want to be paying players to have long layouts due to injury. As soon as Creed was drafted, he was almost instantly added to the first team. 51 games later, he hasn’t missed a single one. We don’t think there has even been a minor injury issue with him. He is a player that can be relied on.

In our opinion, dependable players are also great for morale. In our experience, dependable players aren’t just there to collect a paycheck. They are there for the love of their team, and that bleeds through to the other players who line up alongside them. Of course, we reckon that the latest payday does seem to help.

While Creed was invited to the Pro Bowl, he decided to not go. His team were more important, and it was his efforts here that helped the KC Chiefs win two Super Bowls in a row.

Boost to the offense
Almost as soon as Creed Humphrey was added to the starting lineup, we saw a boost to the team’s offense. More points scored, better plays and more. The team almost instantly improved overnight.

This isn’t because Humphrey is a good shot caller, although he certainly isn’t too shabby at that. It is because he seems to have a decent link with everyone on the team, particularly the quarterback.

The team just works so well together and, honestly, replacing a piece of the puzzle could make everything fall apart. We are not saying that Humphrey is carrying the offense, because he isn’t. However, he is a major part of the offense and replacing him with any other center would likely not work anywhere near as well.

Raw power
When Humphrey tackles, he is not giving people a little bit of a tickle. He is flattening them. Some say Humphrey is one of the best tacklers in the league. We’ve seen huge linebackers knocked to the floor with just a small nudge from Creed. That’s just what you want on a team. You want to shut down the opposing plays. If Creed is given the space to shine, then he will shine.

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Suits wide zone plays
It took a while for Creed to be selected during his draft. He wasn’t even the first center pick for the KC Chiefs. This is because he appeared to be a rather average center. Well, average in terms of the draft. His college playing days didn’t portray him in the best light. During his college days, the teams favored narrow, direct plays. That is not the case with the KC Chiefs. They go for the wide zone plays, and it turns out that Creed is one of the best players in the world for that.

Creed is great at blocking runs and finding space on the wide, which makes him a great asset to the team. We don’t think there is another center in the league that does this anywhere near as well.

His hands
Many pundits have said that Creed is great with the ball in hands. While he is a tall player, which isn’t ideal as a center, he uses this to his advantage. Creed knows how to grab the ball, intercept and more. You know his hands will always be in the right place.

The future
In the grand scheme of things, Creed is still at the start of his career, and he still has many areas where he can improve his game. This makes him exciting; as great as he is now, he will only get better. We can see the KC Chiefs spending some cash building their team around him. Expect even bigger things from the KC Chiefs going forward.