Tag: seahawks offensive line

Seahawks LG Laken Tomlinson discusses secrets of his durability

Tomlinson was asked how he’s managed to only miss one game in his entire NFL career.

The most senior member of the Seahawks offensive line last year was Jason Peters, who provided some badly-needed experience for a relatively young unit. This year that title goes to Laken Tomlinson, who’s projected to start at left guard in place of Damien Lewis, who signed wit the Panthers in free agency.

Yesterday Seahawks beat reporters got to speak with Tomlinson after getting to interview both Boye Mafe and DK Metcalf. Tomlinson was asked how he’s managed to only miss one game in his entire NFL career, which began back in 2015 when the Lions picked him in the first round of the draft. Tomlinson credited a combination of good luck, God and hard work. Watch.

Tomlinson’s toughness and experience are welcome attributes for this offensive line. However, fans probably shouldn’t fall in love too much – Tomlinson only signed a one-year deal worth a total of $1.21 million. At 32 years old, odds are  Seattle will be looking to find his long-term replacement in next year’s draft.

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Ryan Grubb admits Seahawks have work to do on offensive line

Finding a way to bridge that gap will be perhaps the most challenging aspect of Grubb’s job this season.

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.

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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Apparently this wasn’t a thing during the Pete Carroll era.

Everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth. A similar line could apply to calling plays in the NFL: everyone’s got a call until the offensive line completely breaks down and the quarterback has to either improvise or get obliterated. That was certainly the case for much of the last two seasons as Geno Smith was pummeled and pressured at a high rate compared to his competitors – especially on third down.

While he’s done a magnificent job of adjusting to the situation and avoiding sacks, Smith can only do so much and arguably only Patrick Mahomes is better at evading pressure these days. For this offense to reach its potential under new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb the offensive line – especially the pass protection – has to improve a lot.

Under Pete Carroll the offensive line was a blind spot, given seemingly little thought and resources even as it proved to be Seattle’s Achilles heel season after season. While Russell Wilson’s unique brand of ball had something to do with that, poor pass blocking has been an issue all along – even when they had the most expensive OL in the league when they won it all.

Good news – these new-look Seahawks are at least trying different things than the former regime. Watch offensive line coach Scott Huff coaching up the first-team OL unit along with Geno Smith and Ken Walker in the backfield. They look to be working on getting everyone’s timing on the same page. Apparently this wasn’t a thing during the Carroll era, per Gregg Bell.

Running the ball well is part of any healthy offense, even ones that are pass-heavy like those Grubb and Huff led during their time together at Washington. Opening up lanes for Ken Walker will help. Whether he actually uses them is another story, but we’re hopeful that this coaching staff will get Walker playing more disciplined while not throwing out his electrifying ability to flip the field, which is as good as anyone in football.

Seattle’s woeful pass protection is the real x-factor, though. If that part of the game doesn’t improve a great deal compared to the last two seasons then 9-8 is going to remain this team’s ceiling. Until we see it in a live regular season game, consider us skeptical that it’ll actually happen.

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Seahawks starting offensive line from open OTAs practice is (sort-of) revealing

If your initial reaction is to panic about the state of the offensive line then it’s going to be a long offseason.

The biggest question mark about these Seattle Seahawks heading into the 2024 season is their offensive line. No NFL team is spending less money on that unit than Seattle and there are legitimate questions about their depth as well as every projected starter. That’s why it’s so difficult to sort out the depth chart at this early point in the offseason – at this point in time nothing is settled outside of Charles Cross continuing to start at left tackle and veteran Laken Tomlinson taking over at left guard for Damien Lewis, who’s currently swimming in a pool of David Tepper’s money somewhere.

Cross and Lewis were part of the starting five at yesterday’s practice, and Olu Oluwatimi was taking first-team reps in the middle over former Browns/Huskies center Nick Harris. Meanwhile, at right guard 2023 undrafted free agent McClendon Curtis was rolling with the starters while rookie Christian Haynes worked with the second team unit. With Abe Lucas still sidelined by his knee injury, veteran George Fant was the next man up at right tackle. All this is per Brady Henderson at ESPN.

If your initial reaction is to panic about the state of the offensive line then it’s going to be a long offseason. The time to panic will come in the first week of September when general manager John Schneider is scrambling to sign another starter before the season begins.

For now, fans should remember that OTAs are voluntary and most of the team’s premiere players weren’t even at practice on Wednesday. Stone Forsythe might be RT2 instead of George Fant and Anthony Bradford was sitting out with a tweaked ankle – so he may still be ahead of both Haynes and Curtis at right guard.

Their positional spending says otherwise but based on their offseason comments, we expect Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald to make a bigger investment in this unit. If that’s the case, it’s going to take time.

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Let’s see where the Seahawks offensive line ranks compared to the rest of the competition.

Offensive line play remains one of the most misunderstood and underrated parts of the game, even as fans get more knowledgeable every year thanks to the wealth of football #content out there. You probably don’t need to remind Seahawks fans how important that unit can be, though. They have had to suffer through poor offensive line play for a long time, with that front line usually ranking somewhere between mediocre and atrocious for most seasons during the Pete Carroll era.

Carroll might be gone, but heading into the 2024 season we may be in for more of the same. Seattle is spending less money on this unit than any other team thanks to four projected starters playing on their rookie contracts and most analysts are not very high on this group. Let’s see where the Seahawks offensive line ranks compared to the rest of the competition.

Today we’ll be sharing a composite ranking for all 32 OL units around the league. To arrive at our composite, we made an average of the most recent offensive line rankings at Footballguys, FTN Fantasy and Pro Football Network.

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Over time you see certain patterns develop within certain organizations around the NFL.

Over time you see certain patterns develop within certain organizations around the NFL. To name a few, the Eagles tend to have a dominant defensive line, the Seahawks always have a strong wide receiver corps, the Steelers usually have a superb run game and the Bears have been searching for a star quarterback for roughly 100 years.

One thing you can usually count on for Seattle is the offensive line being a liability, as was the case for most of the Pete Carroll era. Missing on several first-round draft picks didn’t help, but in recent years the issue has been a lack of investment. Last season the Seahawks spent less money on their offensive line than any other team in the league. According to Jason Fitzgerald at Over the Cap, that’s the case again this year.

 

To review, at OT the Seahawks have Charles Cross and Abe Lucas on their rookie contracts and there’s no guarantee either one will be re-signed for longer than that. At center they’re likely to start Olu Oluwatimi, who’s played 128 offensive snaps in his career. At right guard rookie Christian Haynes is projected to start and at left guard they splurged for Laken Tomlinson, who’s at the tail end of his career and has a cap hit of just barely over $1 million.

Actually hitting on an offensive line draft pick and signing them to a second contract would help in this department, but whether they are home-grown or outside free agents, either way they’ll eventually have to pay a couple of proven veterans in order to field a good unit, here.

General manager John Schneider may have a point about guards being overdrafted and overpaid, but it’s starting to look like the entire front line may be a blind spot for him – and this wasn’t just an issue for Pete Carroll alone.

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Mike Macdonald calls Seahawks offensive line ‘a work in progress’

Specifically, it’s the interior that still needs a lot of work.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald shared some updates with beat reporters today in Orlando at the owners meetings. For one thing, he says there is currently no timetable for right tackle Abe Lucas to return from the knee surgery he recently underwent. Lucas missed 11 games last season due to chronic knee soreness. Seattle has brought back George Fant for some insurance, but the team has to hope Lucas can make a fully recovery, otherwise the offensive line may buckle once again on the right flank.

Macdonald also told the media that the team isn’t done building up this unit. He called the offensive line a work in progress, per Bob Condotta at the Seattle Times.

Specifically, it’s the interior that still needs a lot of work. Gone are all three 2023 starters in Damien Lewis, Evan Brown and Phil Haynes. If the season were to start today the Seahawks would likely start Nick Harris, Olu Oluwatimi and Tremayne Anchrum in their place, and together they have combined for just six NFL starts.

Building a more experienced offensive line made mostly of veterans would have been the way we went about it, but after their work in the first two weeks of free agency the Seahawks have less cap space than any other team and can’t afford any quality vets. That means Seattle will have to draft multiple linemen up front. Fans should keep an eye out for prospects who can play either center or guard in particular.

Getting those picks right will be critical for the team’s success, both in 2024 and beyond. For what it’s worth, Mike Clay’s annual unit rankings has their offensive line as the worst in the league.

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We can’t mock draft Pete Carroll to be more aggressive on fourth down or stop wasting timeouts, but we can mock a whole new offensive line.

One recurring theme this season when the Seattle Seahawks lose is that they have been dominated at the line of scrimmage. The last three starts for Geno Smith underscores that lesson as much as anything. While Smith has done an exceptional job of avoiding pressure and extending plays there’s only so much any quarterback can do when his pass protection collapses in less than a second. All this pressure has kept a low lid on what should be a top-five scoring offense given all the talent they have at the skill positions.

We can’t mock draft Pete Carroll to be more aggressive on fourth down or stop wasting timeouts, but we can mock a whole new offensive line. That’s the strategy we went in with for our latest seven-round 2024 mock draft. Here’s how it played out.

Geno Smith credits offensive line, playcalling after Seahawks win

Success in the NFL depends on many moving parts working in harmony.

Success in the NFL depends on many moving parts working in harmony. Even the most gifted quarterbacks can be stunted by unimaginative playcalling or poor pass protection. The last few weeks those have both been an issue for Geno Smith and the Seahawks, who continue to struggle on third down more than they should given the level of talent they have.

However, when crunchtime came around on Sunday they got it together. Seattle’s offensive line put in their best performance in weeks, Shane Waldron finally managed to get some yards after catch and Geno Smith answered the call by putting together two flawless drives in the fourth quarter to win the game.

After it was over, Smith naturally deferred to his supporting cast, crediting the offensive line as well as Waldron for their work. Watch.

Smith also deserves a lot of the credit, especially since he managed to avoid committing a turnover for the first time in five games. Through nine games, he’s at 2,171 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 54.2 QBR that ranks right in the middle (No. 17) of the league.

All things considered – especially the size of his contract and the overall offensive drop-off this year around the NFL – this is some solid production from No. 7.

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