Seattle Seahawks O-Line Could Benefit Most From Youth Movement at Guard

The Seahawks have a reliable veteran in Laken Tomlinson ready to roll for Week 1, but could going a different route pay dividends short and long-term?

Seattle Seahawks guards Anthony Bradford (75) and Christian Haynes (64) listen to instruction from coach Scott Huff during a training camp practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. / Corbin Smith/Seahawks On SI

When the Seattle Seahawks take the field for their season opener against the Denver Broncos on September 8, while questions remain at right guard and right tackle for different reasons, the team will undoubtedly have a calming veteran presence in Laken Tomlinson starting at left guard.

Tomlinson, now in his 10th NFL season, signed a one-year deal with Seattle in April, bringing much-needed stability to a young offensive line that could include as many as three starters with fewer than three seasons of NFL experience. Offering plenty of expertise and wisdom, his arrival has been a major boon for several of the Seahawks young linemen, including left tackle Charles Cross, who looks poised to make a huge jump in his third season as he has dominated throughout training camp.

But from a big picture standpoint, while the Seahawks could certainly do worse than Tomlinson at left guard to open the season, coach Mike Macdonald, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, and offensive line coach Scott Huff may have a better option lying right in front of them both for 2024 and the future by pairing Anthony Bradford and rookie Christian Haynes together at the guard spots.

Earlier in training camp, Seattle saw the duo of Haynes and Bradford together in a pair of practices with the first-team offense when Tomlinson sat for veteran rest days, with Haynes sliding over to left guard in his place. In those practices, Haynes demonstrated the physicality and movement skills as a blocker that made him a two-time All-American at UConn, while Bradford has demonstrated marked improvement in pass protection after a rough go protecting the quarterback as a rookie last season.

Still, a handful of practice reps couldn't be used as evidence to suddenly shake up the starting lineup, especially when Tomlinson hasn't done anything on his own to warrant a demotion this summer. The Seahawks needed to see how the pair of youngsters fared working together in real game action and Saturday's exhibition game against the Titans presented that opportunity for true evaluation from the coaching staff, albeit against backups for the other team.

The results? While preseason performance must be taken with a grain of salt going against bubble players and future practice squad signings, Seattle couldn't have been more encouraged by what they saw from Haynes and Bradford as they played the entire first half at the two guard positions, helping the team score on three of its final four drives.

In pass protection, Haynes and Bradford both played near-flawless football keeping defenders away from backup quarterback Sam Howell. Per Pro Football Focus charting, neither player allowed a single pressure on 18 pass blocking snaps on Saturday night, buying the quarterback time to complete nearly 80 percent of his throws for 153 yards, including providing textbook protection on a 23-yard touchdown toss to receiver Easop Winston Jr.

Both Haynes and Bradford earned stellar 85.1 pass blocking grades from PFF for the game, tied for the highest marks for either team in Saturday's contest.

This could not have been more perfectly blocked for Kenny McIntosh. McClendon Curtis cooking up a second level pancake, Anthony Bradford mauling on double team and picking up a linebacker too, and AJ Barner winning on wham block...

That's a big crease in the NFL. #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/3eo6kKzZNb

— Corbin K. Smith (@CorbinSmithNFL) August 18, 2024

Haynes and Bradford both held their own in the run game as well, with the latter turning in a sensational performance creating running lanes for Kenny McIntosh. On their lone touchdown drive that culminated with Howell connecting with Winston, Bradford worked with center Olu Oluwatimi to drive a nose tackle several yards off the ball before releasing from the double team to throw linebacker Chance Campbell off to the side for a nonchalant pancake, helping make a massive crease for McIntosh on a 12-yard carry.

While they share some similarities in terms of play style, including both packing a mean punch at the line of scrimmage, Bradford and Haynes seem to compliment one another quite well due to their differences skill set-wise, further adding to the intrigue of pairing them up as potential long-term starters in the Pacific Northwest.

Though Bradford doesn't have the same lateral quickness on reach blocks and mobility working to the second level as his rookie counterpart, his raw power and nasty demeanor make him a real difference maker setting the tone in the run game. Haynes plays with a similar chip on his shoulder, to the point where he's had some post-whistle tussles at multiple practices, but he creates push at the point of attack with his explosiveness as much as pure strength and his movement traits border on elite, opening up the playbook for Grubb to weaponize him as a puller and in space on screens.

As a pass protector, Bradford has demonstrated growth using his hands in sync with his footwork in pass sets over the course of camp, including winning a handful of 1-on-1 reps against much-hyped first-round pick Byron Murphy II. Mirroring rushers will be a bit more of a challenge for him than Haynes, but he sets a firm anchor against bull rushes and if he's able to land a strike on the opponent with better consistency, his allowed pressure numbers should improve substantially from last year.

In the case of Haynes, he entered the NFL as a far more polished pass blocker than Bradford, but he still has had to adapt to playing against the best of the best, still struggling at times with hand placement off the snap. As camp and the preseason have progressed, however, he's done a better job in that department, including in Saturday's loss when he excelled at controlling each rep from the outset with light feet and accurate hand usage.

With the regular season only a few weeks away, it's unlikely the Seahawks will steer clear of their current course at left guard, as Tomlinson played well in the team's preseason opener and his track record speaks for itself. Even considering his struggles with the Jets last year, he's only a few seasons removed from being a Pro Bowler in San Francisco, has been remarkably durable, and the coaching staff has raved about what he's brought to a young line group since OTAs.

At the other guard spot, likely sandwiched around recent veteran signing Connor Williams at center, Bradford still looks to have the upper hand over Haynes after seeing the vast majority of first-team reps in practices and games this month.

But sooner rather than later, the Seahawks will want to plug Haynes into the starting lineup, and they may not want to do so at the expense of benching Bradford, who is only 23 years old and could be a long-term fixture in the trenches himself. Considering how well they have played together in brief auditions so far, if Tomlinson struggles at all out of the gate, whether fair or not, the leash may be quite short before Macdonald, Grubb, and company decide to implement a youth movement with present and future in mind.