Seahawks beat reporters got to interview all three of the team’s new coordinators after yesterday’s open OTAs practice at the VMAC. First up was offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who comes to Renton by way of UW. At the University of Washington Grubb led one of college football’s most exciting offenses over the last two years. However, one big difference between that gig and this one is the offensive line.
Whereas the Huskies had one of the nation’s best units up front, the Seahawks have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. Finding a way to bridge that gap will be perhaps the most challenging aspect of Grubb’s job this season. He’s well aware of that and admitted to reporters that the unit has a ways to go, especially the right side.
OC Ryan Grubb on the #Seahawks offensive line: “We’ve got a little ways to go there,” particularly on the right side. @thenewstribune pic.twitter.com/tmTMxtB0ua
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) June 3, 2024
Specifically, the right side of the line is currently missing two of our projected starters. First there’s Charles Cross at left tackle, Laken Tomlinson at left guard and Olu Oluwatimi at center, all as expected. The problems begin at right guard, where right now 2023 undrafted free agent McClendon Curtis has been taking snaps with the first-team unit. Meanwhile, at right tackle George Fant is starting in place of Abe Lucas, who remains sidelined by the knee that he had surgery on this offseason.
Curtis and Fant may end up surprising us all by becoming reliable starters, but Grubb pointing out the issues on the right side isn’t a great sign. The team has to hope that Lucas will be able to play most of the season after sitting out 11 games last year due to chronic knee pain. In those matchups the right side of the offensive line frequently buckled under pressure, putting a low lid on what Seattle’s passing game could accomplish.
There’s also the question of who’s going to start at right guard. After the Seahawks picked him in the third round of the draft, we were projecting that Christian Haynes out of UConn would be starting between right tackle and center. However, Haynes has been working with the second-string unit so far this offseason.
That suggests Anthony Bradford is first in line at right guard, which inspires even less confidence than Fant at RT. Last season Bradford was the lowest-graded offensive player on Seattle’s roster according to PFF, posting a putrid 38.9 grade in pass blocking and a mediocre 58.5 in run blocking.
PFF grades may be subjective but Bradford’s overall play was not difficult to read. If both Bradford and Curtis are ahead of Haynes on the depth chart that raises multiple concerns. Hopefully this all gets sorted out by Week 1 and we’ll see Christian Haynes at right guard and Abe Lucas next to him. If not, Seahawks fans might be in for another long season.
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