Seattle Seahawks 90-Man Roundup: Does Raiqwon O'Neal Have Place in Deep OT Room?

Second-year tackle Raiqwon O'Neal hung around on Seattle's active roster last season and saw limited action. Can he outplay proven veterans for a roster spot?

Seahawks tackle Raiqwon O'Neal chats with quarterback Sam Howell prior to a run fit drill at OTAs. / Corbin Smith/All Seahawks

With OTAs now opening across the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC in just under two months, officially ushering in the first season under new coach Mike Macdonald.

In preparation for the new incoming season, we'll be detailing every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, diving into scheme fits, exploring best- and worst-case scenarios and predicting what to expect from each player entering the 2024 campaign.

After spending most of his 2023 rookie season on Seattle’s practice squad, can Raiqwon O’Neal find a role in the Seahawks deep offensive tackle room?

Background

Coming out of Conway High School in Conway, South Carolina as a three-star recruit, O’Neal took his talents to Rutgers and spent four seasons with the Scarlet Knights. He started 21 games at Rutgers and was a back-to-back All-Big Ten honorable mention from 2020–21, even scoring four touchdowns while there — two rushing and two receiving. He transferred to UCLA for his fifth and final college campaign in 2022, starting all 13 games for the Bruins. While there, UCLA’s offensive line group was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award. O’Neal went undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft and was signed by the Buccaneers before being released in late August and then re-signed to the team’s practice squad. Seattle signed O’Neal off Tampa Bay's practice squad ahead of its Week 2 game against Detroit and he appeared in three games, mostly on field goal attempts on special teams.

Scheme Fit

O’Neal primarily excels in pass-blocking situations, with a strong center of gravity and a keen ability to change direction in response to pass rush moves. That ability, especially for a player who has almost exclusively played left tackle, will aid his candidacy for a roster spot. However, the 6-4, 305-pound offensive lineman struggles in the run game with frequently wide hands and a lack of ferocity off the line of scrimmage. O’Neal borders being undersized at the position, and Seattle already has a wealth of tackle prospects on its roster.

Best Case Scenario

With injury concerns continuing for starting right tackle Abraham Lucas, Seattle wants some insurance and chooses to keep more players at that position. O’Neal shows he can be a plug-and-play tackle on either side in a pinch and displays noticeable improvement in his run blocking technique. He is released after Seattle’s final preseason game and brought back on the practice squad, entering the regular season as the team’s third option at left tackle.

Worst Case Scenario

The addition of George Fant, a proven versatile offensive tackle, lowers the stock of all other prospects Seattle is evaluating and injury concerns for the Seahawks starters are quelled. Seattle offensive line coach Scott Huff prefers the swing tackle capabilities of South Dakota State undrafted rookie Garret Greenfield, and O’Neal is let go after the team’s second preseason game.

What to Expect in 2024

To make the 53-man roster, O’Neal would have to show Seattle’s coaching staff a massive improvement in his run blocking and probably would need to further fill out his frame and become stronger. With Stone Forsythe and George Fant each being proven, game-ready players, O’Neal has a steep hill to climb in outplaying either of those two in training camp. His lack of experience playing on both sides of the offensive line also hurts his chances due to the other players’ positional versatility.

That said, O’Neal has the upper hand over rookies Greenfield and Michael Jerrell in terms of NFL experience, which could be enough to earn him a spot on Seattle’s practice squad. The competition for the final left tackle spot will mainly be between Greenfield and O’Neal most likely, and that’s a toss-up until both can truly be evaluated in the trenches during training camp with pads on.

Previous 90-Man Roundups

Buddha Jones | Devin Richardson | TaMerik Williams | Rason Williams II | Ro Torrence | Nathan Pickering | Dee Williams | Devere Levelston | Kobe Lewis | Sunny Anderson | Mike Novitsky | Max Pircher | Easton Gibbs | Hayden Hatten | Garret Greenfield | Carlton Johnson | Matt Gotel |George Holani | Cody White | Ty Okada | Drake Thomas | McClendon Curtis | Easop Winston Jr. |Nelson Ceaser | Jonathan Sutherland | Lance Boykin | Joshua Onujiogu | Patrick O'Connell | Jack Westover