Ryan Grubb, Seattle Seahawks Hopeful RG Competition Concludes Soon

Now entering the fourth game of the season, the Seahawks still have yet to find clarity at right guard, which has created issues for building continuity up front.

Sep 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks guard Anthony Bradford blocks during the third quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images / Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

RENTON, Wash. - From the beginning of the offseason, Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb have each preached the value of continuity for building chemistry along the offensive line.

But with the calendar soon to flip to October, Macdonald and Grubb have yet to find the answer they have been seeking at right guard, which remains an open competition between second-year blocker Anthony Bradford and rookie Christian Haynes. Bradford has taken the majority of the reps in game action so far, starting in all three of Seattle's victories and playing every snap against Denver and Miami at home, but he hasn't played well enough to secure the full-time gig either.

On Monday, Macdonald told reporters that Haynes, a third-round pick out of UConn, deserved a chance to compete for snaps on the practice field this week as the competition continues to rage on without a clear winner emerging. From a play caller's standpoint, Grubb would like to see a resolution coming soon where one or the other seizes the job, once again citing the desire for continuity in the trenches for an offensive line featuring multiple new starters.

"I do think the sooner you can get that established, I think the more comfort those guys have working together," Grubb commented after Thursday's practice. "That just shores up the whole operation where guys aren't guessing. So, we certainly hope that we can start to get that hammered down here."

Coming out of training camp and the preseason, Bradford appeared to have the right guard spot on lockdown, as he never seemed to truly be threatened by Haynes at any point in August and received the lion's share of first-team reps on the practice field. The fourth-round pick out of LSU also started all three exhibition games, a clear sign the coaches viewed him out in front of the competition by a significant margin.

But through three games, Bradford hasn't been able to keep Haynes out of his rear view mirror with inconsistent performance at best. In the first two games, per Pro Football Focus charting, he only allowed two pressures, but he struggled mightily against the Dolphins last weekend, yielding six pressures and two sacks on Geno Smith. One of those pressures also resulted in a Calais Campbell pass breakup that ultimately was picked off by defensive tackle Zach Sieler.

In addition, Bradford drew two penalties against Miami, including a hold that wiped out a quality run on a toss play by Kenny McIntosh, continuing an ugly trend for drawing yellow from officials in the first month of the season. Through three games, he has been flagged seven times, more than double the amount of any other guard in the NFL to this point, and several of those penalties have been killer for the Seahawks.

Back in the season opener, Bradford got nabbed for holding in the end zone with Seattle starting a drive from its own one-yard line, resulting in a safety. Then in Week 2 in Foxboro, a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty derailed a promising drive early in the third quarter, which contributed to the team's inability to score in the second half until the closing seconds of regulation.

When asked for an assessment of Bradford's play last week against Miami, while he acknowledged he had far from his best game, Grubb pointed out that he's still only in his second season and the Seahawks believe in his skill set with proper development, which explains why they haven't been quick to pull the trigger and take him out of the lineup.

"He'd probably tell you he didn't have his best game and I think he's a young player still that hopefully has continued to develop," Grubb remarked. "We think he has a very good skillset and there's some other things that just got to come along in his game and we're just still trying to develop that."

As Grubb indicated, Seattle doesn't want to quickly pull the plug on Bradford, and part of the reason why the team has been hesitant to provide Haynes with more opportunities to play to this point boils down to pro readiness.

Though Haynes earned All-American honors twice at UConn and starred at the Senior Bowl, the Huskies often played inferior competition as an FBS independent, which created questions from draft pundits about how he would acclimate against NFL defenders. In the preseason, he performed quite well for the most part while seeing snaps at both guard positions, allowing only one pressure on 58 pass blocking reps, but he did draw two penalties and wasn't consistent creating push in the run game.

Providing a candid appraisal of Haynes' development, Grubb thinks Haynes still has a ways to go shoring up his technical game and at least in comparison to Bradford, he's lacking in the strength department, which can be a major hinderance trying to block uber-strong NFL defensive tackles at the line of scrimmage. Those factors have been the biggest ones preventing him from pushing Bradford much in the early stages of the season.

"Just technique and power," Grubb responded when asked where Haynes needs to improve. "I think that just raw power at the guard position in the NFL is so critical and that's why obviously Anthony [Bradford] can withstand a lot in there. Just his sheer size and just what he can take on the inside. So I think for Christian, [it's about] not getting overpowered and overwhelmed."

To this point, Haynes has only played 16 snaps in Seattle's first three games, and the fact Bradford played every down against Miami despite his obvious struggles indicates that Grubb, offensive line coach Scott Huff, and the rest of the staff haven't felt the rookie is quite ready for prime time. At minimum, he hasn't shown enough on the practice field to earn those snaps.

However, the Seahawks may have no choice but to throw Haynes into the fire at Ford Field against the Lions on Monday Night Football this week, whether they think he's ready for the big stage or not. Bradford missed Thursday's practice with a knee injury, and if he ends up sitting out or even is limited on Friday, the opportunity that the rookie has been vying for and waiting for may finally arrive against one of the NFC's best teams.

Depending on who starts and whether or not Seattle opts to deploy a platoon or play Bradford or Haynes for the entire game, facing a physical Detroit defensive line will present quite the litmus test for the offensive line as a whole. Approaching the quarter point of the season, the team's toughest test yet could help provide the answers Grubb, Macdonald, and the rest of the staff have been looking for as they continue to pursue clarity at right guard.