The Seahawks offensive line was supposed to be one of the worst in the NFL this year. In fact, at one point during the offseason Pro Football Focus had them ranked last in the league. However, thanks mostly to the surprise success of their starting rookie tackles, Seattle has fielded their best OL in a long time. As it happens, this week’s opponents (the Rams) are now ranked last in the league.
Heading into Week 13, PFF now ranks the Seahawks offensive line No. 13, down two spots from the week before. We can probably credit rookie right tackle Abe Lucas’ issues with Maxx Crosby for the drop, but to be fair Crosby does the same to just about everybody he faces.
For the year, Lucas still has solid PFF grades: 67.3 overall, 69.4 pass blocking and 65.3 run blocking. Meanwhile, fellow rookie left tackle Charles Cross has similar grades: 65.3 overall, 69.4 pass blocking and 60.3 run blocking. Left guard Damien Lewis has also had a strong season, grading out at 70.8 overall, which is 13.7 points higher than last season. The weak link in the chain is still center Austin Blythe – who is currently at 54.9 overall. Right guard Gabe Jackson (57.7 overall) has also shown signs of decline, while backup swing-guard Phil Haynes is at a respectable 63.4 overall grade.
Here’s how PFF ranks all 32 teams‘ offensive lines right now.