Rejuvenated Duane Brown Crushing Father Time, Playing at All-Pro Level for Seahawks
RENTON, WA - Entering his 13th NFL season, the Seahawks knew they needed to coordinate a specified plan to keep left tackle Duane Brown healthy and playing at a high level following a season riddled by injuries.
Though he still played well in 12 starts in 2019, Brown was dogged by bicep and knee issues throughout the season, undergoing a scope on his knee in December and missing several critical games down the stretch. While the two-time All-Pro selection wasn't close to 100 percent, he valiantly returned to start in Seattle's Divisional Round loss to Green Bay, drawing the praise of coaches and teammates alike for his toughness and leadership.
With two years left on his contract, questions persisted about whether or not Brown would be able to return to pre-2019 levels at the age of 35. But seven games into the schedule, the Seahawks game plan for the veteran has worked to perfection and he's playing as well as he has at any point in his career.
"He's been so consistent that I don't know if this is the best he's played," coach Pete Carroll said on Monday. "We have been able to manage his preparation really consistently, really evenly, and so he has not any setbacks to speak of. He's playing really good, solid ball."
Since the start of training camp practices in mid-August, Brown has only practiced on a limited basis. Some days, he wouldn't take the field until after individual work had concluded and team sessions started, while Seattle has consistently held him out for veteran rest days during the week to keep him fresh.
So far, those efforts have panned out with Brown playing all but five offensive snaps the entire season.
Despite his advancing age, Brown hasn't shown any signs of slowing down athletically, particularly as a run blocker. The Seahawks have been making a conscious effort to take advantage of his ability to block in space on perimeter runs and he remains as good as any tackle in the game at getting out in front as a lead blocker on sweeps, toss plays, and screens.
Two weeks ago in Arizona, Seattle dialed up a toss play to the left with receiver DK Metcalf "crack" blocking a defender inside from the slot. Brown swung his hips open and sprinted outside, taking a perfect angle to cornerback Patrick Peterson and driving the perennial Pro Bowler towards the end zone. Capitalizing on the block, Carlos Hyde bolted 24 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.
Then in Sunday's game against the 49ers, Brown again showed off his impressive speed and quickness at 315 pounds as a lead blocker on a pitch to rookie DeeJay Dallas. This time, he managed to get his hands on cornerback Jason Verrett, preventing the defender from being able to make a play as the back reached for the pylon. Though he stepped out of bounds just before the ball crossed the goal line, the Seahawks scored two plays later.
"He's such a specialty player that he's so gifted on the perimeter, able to get out on the edge and do things most guys at that position can't do," Carroll commented. "We continue to try to put him in those positions and he just keeps excelling."
Along with dominating in the ground game, Brown has arguably been even better protecting Russell Wilson's blindside in the passing game.
According to Pro Football Focus, Brown has only allowed one sack on 465 offensive snaps and been penalized just one time. He currently has the fourth-highest grade (86.2) among all tackles through eight weeks.
ESPN has also favorably evaluated Brown's play protecting Wilson, as he's tied for fourth among qualified tackles in the Pass Block Win Rate metric, sustaining his blocks for 2.5 seconds or longer 94 percent of the time on passing plays.
Considering the Seahawks have thrown the football more this season as part of the #LetRussCook movement, those numbers are all the more impressive.
While Carroll wouldn't go as far as to say this is the best he's seen Brown perform since he arrived via trade in 2017, film and statistics suggest he's producing an All-Pro worthy season. He's served as the primary catalyst for one of the most improved positional groups in the league, as Seattle currently ranks seventh overall in pass blocking efficiency per Pro Football Focus.
From Carroll's perspective, it's been all about the reduced workload during the week, which has kept Brown "consistently feeling well" and thus allowed him to play an elite level opening up run lanes and keeping Wilson upright.
In this case, in terms of practice time, less truly has been more and with Brown being a key cog in the team's push for a Super Bowl, the Seahawks will continue to everything they can to keep him healthy as the year progresses.
