Michigan State center Matt Gulbin selected by Washington Commanders in sixth round of 2026 NFL Draft
MSU center and team captain Matt Gulbin is headed to the NFL after being drafted by the Washington as the No. 209 overall pick. Read more.
Michigan State center Matt Gulbin is NFL-bound, as he was selected by the Washington Commanders in the sixth round (No. 209 overall) of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Gulbin is the first Spartan to be chosen in the 2026 NFL Draft.
He will be led by head coach Dan Quinn in Washington.
At the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this year, Gulbin measured in at 6-feet-3-and-five-eighth-inches tall and weighed in at 305 pounds. His hands measured at nine-and-half inches and his arms came in at 31-and-three-quarter-inches.
He played one season in East Lansing in 2025, after transferring to Michigan State following four seasons at Wake Forest.
Despite being a newcomer, Gulbin was immediately voted as a team captain by his teammates for the 2025 campaign. He started 11 games at center, and tallied 727 offensive snaps, before missing the season finale versus Maryland in Detroit due to an injury. He did not miss an offensive snaps in the first 11 games he played in.
Gulbin was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades this past season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Gulbin was graded as the No. 1 Power Four center with a grade of 82.6, which also ranked No. 2 overall in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision. Meanwhile, he recorded a run-blocking grade of 81.9, which also ranked No. 2 in the FBS, and his pass-blocking grade of 87.8 was the fifth-highest in the country, per PFF.
In 2025, Gulbin played for head coach Jonathan Smith, offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren, offensive line coach Jim Michalczik and the rest of the Michigan State staff. Prior to that with Wake Forest, Gulbin played under head coach Dave Clawson and offensive line coach Nick Tabacca with the Demon Deacons. Notably, Tabacca now works as MSU's offensive line coach as part of head coach Pat Fitzgerald's 2026 staff.
At Wake Forest, Gulbin played in 41 career games. He made 23 starts for the Demon Deacons including 11 at left guard, 11 at right guard and one at center. He was an honorable mention All-ACC selection in 2024 and earned a spot on the 2021 All-ACC Academic Team.
Overall, Gulbin played in 51 career collegiate games, including 34 starts, across five combined seasons at Wake Forest and Michigan State.
NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein notes some of Gulbin's strengths include his consistency as a starter, his power, his hand placement and leg drive, the angles he takes to get to the linebacker level and more. Additionally, Gulbin has experience playing both guard and center, which gives him positional versatility in the NFL. However, Zierein notes that potential concerns about Gulbin's game are his short arms and his average lateral range, among other "weaknesses."
