How Chiefs, Eagles Super Bowl Shows Where Seahawks Must Make Major Improvement

With two young, rising tackles in Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas, the Seattle Seahawks have started their quest to build a top-tier offensive line. But as Sunday's Super Bowl illustrated, they have plenty of work left to do in the trenches to become a contender.

With the NFL's clear and obvious top two teams battling in Super Bowl LVII, Sunday's clash in Arizona proved to be an instant classic with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs using a second half surge to edge the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 at State Farm Stadium.

Stat-wise, Mahomes and opposing quarterback Jalen Hurts turned in fantastic performances under the lights of the biggest stage in sports, throwing for nearly 500 passing yards and seven touchdowns between them.

But for the Seattle Seahawks and the other 29 NFL franchises watching with hopes of making the big game next year, skill players weren't the ones who truly starred with a Lombardi Trophy on the line.

With Kansas City and Philadelphia boasting the top two sack-producing defenses in the NFL, elite offensive line play surprisingly ruled the day in Glendale. As both teams participated in a back-and-forth track meet with more than 70 points, neither defense could muster much pressure on Mahomes or Hurts, who were sacked only one time combined and took just seven hits in the contest. Pristine pass protection and execution silenced two disruptive defensive fronts all night long.

It was just the latest reminder that while quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and tight ends receive the headlines 99 percent of the time for scoring touchdowns, football games are won and lost in the trenches. This remains especially true in a game the magnitude of the Super Bowl, where every mistake becomes magnified and carries significant weight.

Coming off a surprising playoff berth of their own, if the Seahawks take just one lesson from Sunday's quintessential title game heading towards free agency and the draft, continuing to overhaul their offensive line must remain the top priority to gain ground with the Eagles and the NFC's elite.

From a positive standpoint, Seattle already has started to build an exciting foundation up front, as tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas started 16 regular season games and a wild card loss together during their rookie seasons. While there were bumps in the road and neither finished better than 35th in Pro Football Focus' blocking grades last season, the two youngsters flashed promise both in pass protection and in the run game.

With another offseason to hit the weight room and continue refining their technique, the sky is the limit for Cross and Lucas at the book end positions and they should only get better after earning invaluable playoff experience. Assuming they make great strides in their respective development as anticipated, the pair could start for Seattle for the next decade.

But away from the ever-so-critical tackle positions, the Seahawks have no shortage of concerns within the interior of their offensive line moving into 2023 and beyond. The film and stats don't lie. They need to find substantial upgrades at center and guard to have any chance at becoming viable title contenders in the near future and could learn a thing or two from how the two Super Bowl squads were constructed.

Looking at the Chiefs and the Eagles, the two franchises have done an outstanding job building their respective lines through different methods. Philadelphia ranked ninth in ESPN's Pass Block win rate and first in PFF's pass blocking grade as a team in 2022 with a line featuring five players who were drafted and developed by the organization, including All-Pro left tackle Lane Johnson and center Jason Kelce.

Meanwhile, Kansas City finished in the top five in Pass Block and Run Block Win Rate with an elite line built through the draft as well as trades and free agency. Along with hitting on recent draft picks to land center Creed Humphrey and guard Trey Smith, general manager Brett Veach aggressively bolstered the unit by trading a first round pick to Baltimore for tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and opening the checkbook for guard Joe Thuney in free agency two years ago.

Individually, via PFF, all five of the Eagles starters graded in the top 20 overall in their respective positions groups in 2022. The Chiefs were nearly as impressive with four of their five starters grading out in the top 20 as well, including Humphrey ranking first among centers and Thuney ranking fifth overall among guards. Both teams had at least three starters rank in the top 10 of ESPN's Pass Block Win Rate metric as well.

Whether evaluated by Pro Football Focus or ESPN, the Seahawks failed to stack up against the Eagles or Chiefs along the offensive line

On the other end of the spectrum, while Seattle exceeded expectations in some regards with three new starters and two rookies along the offensive line, the group still ranked in the bottom half of the NFL in PFF's pass and run blocking grades. ESPN viewed the unit more positively in pass protection with the 8th best Pass Block Win Rate, while the team plummeted to 24th in Run Block Win Rate.

Showcasing just how far they have to go to build a line on par with the Chiefs or Eagles, the Seahawks only had one starting lineman - left guard Damien Lewis - who earned a top 20 grade from PFF or finished favorably in ESPN's Pass Block and Run Block Win Rate. The third-year blocker received a respectable 71.8 overall grade and also ranked fourth in Run Block Win Rate among guards, a rare bright spot for the unit in terms of advanced metrics.

As for the rest of Seattle's front line, no other starter finished better than 29th in their respective position group in PFF's charting and none of them showed up on ESPN's Top 10 lists. In that instance, impending free agent Austin Blythe graded out better than only three other qualified centers with a dismal 51.9 score dragged down by his 31st ranked 48.0 run blocking grade. Veteran guard Gabe Jackson also struggled mightily, ranking 47th among 57 qualified guards.

Such evaluations do not paint a pretty picture for the state of the Seahawks offensive line, leaving much to be desired in pass protection as well as the run game. That simply won't cut it. But thankfully, general manager John Schneider and the front office have the resources to pour into the group to improve quickly if utilized properly.

Peering towards April's draft, holding two high picks in the first and second round courtesy of the Russell Wilson trade to Denver, Seattle will pick four times in the first 52 selections. This will provide an ample opportunity for the franchise to draft at least one, if not more, interior offensive linemen early in pursuit of its own Humphrey or Smith to immediately bolster the unit for years to come.

Depending how much Geno Smith costs to re-sign, if they want to take a page from the Chiefs' roster construction playbook, the Seahawks may also be able to level up at center or guard in free agency with a bit of cap space maneuvering in coming weeks. Releasing the aging Jackson, who is due north of $10 million in 2023, would instantly create $6 million in cap relief that could be used to sign or trade for his replacement or a successor for Blythe when the new league year starts on March 15.

Regardless of how they choose to proceed, however, Seattle can't afford to rest on its laurels with the same starting five or pinch pennies with its offensive line as it has done far too often in the past. As the group is currently constructed, Cross, Lucas, and Lewis should be the only returning starters with the latter still playing for a second contract, leaving the other two spots open in pursuit of upgrades.

With an intriguing foundation already in place, if Schneider and the Seahawks can follow the blueprint set forth by the Eagles and Chiefs and land younger, superior talents at guard and center, they can open their title window wide open for the foreseeable future. If they can't take advantage of the resources at their disposal and/or stick with status quo, rising from .500 mark mediocrity and an extended drought of early playoff exits could prove difficult.

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