Seahawks Desire Balanced Approach to Improving Offensive Line
RENTON, Wash. - For most of the 2024 season, the Seattle Seahawks found themselves with a familiar predicament, shuffling offensive linemen in and out of the lineup due to multitude of factors such as injuries, abrupt retirements, and subpar play.
Not surprisingly, as a key contributor to narrowly missing out on the postseason, Seattle's offensive line didn't receive favorable marks from outlets such as Pro Football Focus and ESPN, ranking 26th in PFF's pass protection grade and 28th in ESPN's Run Block Win Rate metric as just two examples. The unit allowed Geno Smith and Sam Howell to be sacked 54 times, tied for the third-highest total in the NFL, while the team finished 29th in rushing yards and 25th in rush EPA.
Taking those struggles at face value with Smith under constant duress throughout the season and the run game failing to truly take off, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald knows the franchise has a long way to go to build the type of offensive line needed to compete for championships.
But with the exception of the season finale, Seattle deployed the same starting offensive line in five of the final six games plugging in a healthy Abraham Lucas at right tackle and rookie Sataoa Laumea at right guard alongside second-year center Olu Oluwatimi. With that continuity, Macdonald saw reasons for optimism down the stretch with the team rushing for nearly five yards per carry and 107.8 yards per game during that span, a clear sign of progress.
"I think that kind of alludes to the growth that we had and the people that we have, the players and the offensive line getting consistency," Macdonald said in his season-closing press conference.
"I mean you look at the guys who were playing towards the end of the season, Abe [Lucas] coming off the injury, Olu [Oluwatimi] really taking the center spot. Jalen Sundell had some good reps. Sataoa [Laumea], I thought he played some really good football for us, so he's got a great future. So I think there's a lot of bright spots moving forward upfront."
Keeping those improvements in mind, it shouldn't come as a surprise Macdonald expressed interest in seeing things through from a development standpoint with a young offensive line that featured four starters in those final six games currently on rookie contracts.
Starting at the tackle positions, ex-top 10 pick Charles Cross allowed six sacks and 47 pressures in 17 starts, equaling the number of sacks he surrendered in 2023. But he posted a 96 percent pass blocking efficiency rate, the highest mark of his career, while PFF gave him his highest overall grade in three NFL seasons by a wide margin.
Across from him, Lucas missed more than half of the season recovering from offseason knee surgery and did give up four sacks in pass protection, but his return served as a catalyst for the Seahawks substantial growth in the run game in the final month. In seven starts, the team posted a 5-2 record while rushing for rushing for 680 yards and 4.3 yards per carry with him reinstalling a much-needed physical presence to the front line.
Cross and Lucas both exited the season healthy, a big deal for the latter, who has been battling knee injuries for the past two years, and they remain foundational pieces for Seattle's offensive line moving into the final year of their contracts. As for the interior, with veteran guard Laken Tomlinson set to be a free agent, the team likely will have one starting job to fill, but Macdonald has a positive outlook on the situation with Laumea and Christian Haynes waiting in the wings and Anthony Bradford returning from an ankle injury.
In particular, Macdonald's excitement about Haynes' future hasn't diminished despite the fact that the third-round pick didn't start any games as a rookie and ultimately lost out on starting snaps to Laumea in the final two months. He sees both young guards as potential fixtures for 2025 and beyond with further development.
"I think he's got a bright future. I really do. When we were making that decision to go to Sataoa, it wasn't that Christian hadn't done enough to earn an opportunity," Macdonald explained. "We just felt like Sataoa did more, but Christian's gotten all the reps, he still had meaningful reps early in the season. I thought he played well earlier in the season, good enough to win, but we want more from our entire offense. We want more from our offensive line, guys know that, but I believe in the guys that we have and any opportunity we have a chance to develop those guys and make our team better, we're going to do it."
Top organizations excel at drafting and developing their own talent, and Macdonald clearly envisions that aspect being a major part of the Seahawks building a quality offensive line for the foreseeable future. If Oluwatimi, Haynes, and/or Laumea winds up turning into a long-term starter, it will be easier to close the gap on NFC West opponents and the rest of the league in general.
But as recent seasons have proven, contrary to Schneider's remarks about guards "being overdrafted and overpaid," spending money to improve the offensive line can pay major dividends. Look no further than the Chiefs, who won the last two Super Bowls after shelling out big bucks on All-Pro guard Joe Thuney and tackle Jawaan Taylor in recent free agent periods, prioritizing protecting quarterback Patrick Mahomes by reallocating funds from other position groups, including receiver.
Though he doesn't carry the title his predecessor Pete Carroll once did and Schneider has the say on all final decisions, Macdonald expects the Seahawks brain trust will be in lockstep aggressively looking into outside options to improve their offensive line in coming months, executing a balancing act between developing their own home grown players and upgrading the roster with difference making free agents in pursuit of a division title next fall.
“We believe in the guys we’ve got. Players are allowed to get better, our guys are going to get better, they're going to develop. I think we've got the right type of guys. And of course, you could ask me at any position 'Are you guys going to look to try to find other players at that position?’ Yes. Yes, we are. Of course. There are all of these different ways that you can do that in timing, right now we're looking at free agency. You know the cadence of it, but that's the mentality of 'Hey, we're going to develop the heck out of our guys, but we're never going to take ourselves out of the running of possibly adding a great player that fits us.'"
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