Tag: seahawks offensive line

Seahawks offensive line ranked No. 13 by PFF going into Week 13

Here’s how PFF ranks all 32 teams’ offensive lines right now.

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.

Geno Smith praises Seahawks’ offensive line with Marshawn Lynch quote

One unit that also deserves commendation is Seattle’s offensive line.

The Seahawks have won four games in a row. While their defensive turnaround is rightfully getting a lot of the credit, it’s important to remember this has been a complete team effort. One unit that also deserves commendation is Seattle’s offensive line, which has done a good job all year of keeping Geno Smith relatively clean.

Following Sunday’s 31-21 win over the Cardinals, Smith shared a tweet that made an interesting comparison. After praising the defense, Smith said he feels like Marshawn Lynch behind this offensive line, using Beast Mode’s famous “we going to Sizzler” line from his Oakland Tech days.

The team’s traditional sack and QB hit numbers aren’t great, but there are better ways to measure pass protection these days.

According to Pro Football Focus, Seattle has a 65.7 pass blocking grade for the season (not counting yesterday’s game), which ranks No. 13 in the league. ESPN’s pass block win rate metric has them at No. 5 at 65%.

Those are good but not great numbers, but compared to the Russell Wilson era it’s absolute gold. It’s a little bit hysterical that they finally got a quality pass blocking line as soon as he left.

The lion’s share of the credit must go to rookie tackles Abe Lucas and Charles Cross, who could be bookending this line for the next decade.

Update:

Marshawn Lynch approves.

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Seahawks offensive line ranked outside top 25 by PFF going into Week 4

Here’s how all 32 teams stack up going into October.

The Seattle Seahawks have two exciting young offensive tackles starting for them in Charles Cross and Abe Lucas. While their early work hasn’t been perfect, both have shown tremendous promise through three games.

Sadly, Seattle’s interior linemen haven’t performed as well. Damien Lewis has been unreliable at best, Gabe Jackson may be slowing down with age and Austin Blythe probably shouldn’t be considered a real starting center in any case. Together they’ve dragged down the unit’s ceiling. Heading into Week 4, Pro Football Focus has this group ranked No. 26 in the league. Here’s how all 32 teams stack up going into October.

Seahawks: 4 takeaways from a sloppy preseason loss to the Bears

Here are four takeaways from a sloppy preseason loss to Chicago.

The Seattle Seahawks laid a big, ugly egg in their first home game of the 2022 campaign. Fortunately it was only an exhibition game. Seattle played host to the Chicago Bears tonight and wound up losing by a score of 27-11.

Here are four takeaways from a sloppy preseason loss to Chicago.

Seahawks Highlights: Geno Smith throws a rainbow ball to Penny Hart for 41 yards

Watch Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith throw a pretty rainbow ball to wide receiver Penny Hart, resulting in a 41-yard gain.

Watch Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith throw a pretty rainbow ball to wide receiver Penny Hart, resulting in a 41-yard gain.

More absolutely gorgeous pass protection, here. We simply didn’t see this level of pass blocking consistently at any point in the Russell Wilson era.

That pass set Seattle up in field goal range but kicker Jason Myers missed from 47 yards. Chicago still leads 10-0.

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Seahawks Highlights: Charles Cross shuts down Robert Quinn on third down

If Seattle’s quarterbacks are going to consistently get pockets like that on third down this offense has a chance to exceed even our wildest expectations.

As we noted last week, this Seattle Seahawks offensive line has rarely made highlight reel-worthy plays for a long time. That may be changing thanks to their promising pair of rookie tackles, though.

Seattle’s first possession of its preseason game against the Chicago Bears ended in a three and out. However, it was a very promising three and out – that is if you’re excited about this team’s sudden, radical improvement in pass protection. Observe left tackle Charles Cross standing up Robert Quinn, one of the league’s top veteran pass rushers.

Geno Smith had more than enough time to work in the pocket and delivered a good ball to Freddie Swain, who dropped it.

That’s really besides the point. If Seattle’s quarterbacks are going to consistently get pockets like that on third down this offense has a chance to exceed even our wildest expectations.

Chicago leads 3-0 late in the first quarter.

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Seahawks offensive line ranked NFL’s worst by Pro Football Focus going into 2022

Stop me if this one sounds familiar.

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Stop me if this one sounds familiar. Pro Football Focus believes that the Seattle Seahawks have the worst offensive line unit in the entire NFL going into the 2022 season.

Here’s what PFF had to say about Seattle’s No. 32 ranking.

“There’s quite obviously a lot of hope for the future with the talent Seattle has brought into the fold, but this has crash-and-burn potential. Starting two rookie offensive tackles — both from Air Raid offenses — is a scary proposition. And considering Gabe Jackson’s decline in recent years, there’s not a single quality starter this unit can rely on.”

Truth hurts but lies will kill you and PFF isn’t wrong about the crash-and-burn potential angle for this group.

If the regular season were to start today the Seahawks’ starting five up front would look like this:

LT: Charles Cross
LG: Damien Lewis
C: Austin Blythe
RG: Gabe Jackson
RT: Abe Lucas

Seattle has at least one quality backup guard in Phil Haynes but everybody else on the bench is as yet an unproven commodity at this level.

We believe Cross and Lucas will both turn out to be quality starters in the long run, but it may take a couple of seasons for them to reach their potential. In the meantime, it’s hard to argue that this won’t be one of the worst offensive lines in the league.

The one thing that would help most is bringing in a proven veteran center to lead the group. J.C. Tretter is the best one available.

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2022 NFL draft: Scouting report for Seahawks OT Abraham Lucas

Here’s a look at a portion of Lucas’ scouting report from Draft Wire’s Natalie Miller.

The Seattle Seahawks selected the perfect complement to new left tackle Charles Cross when they picked right tackle Abraham Lucas out of Washington State at No. 72 overall.

Here’s a look at a portion of Lucas’ scouting report from Draft Wire’s Natalie Miller.

Lucas was a reliable presence for the Cougars, starting 42 games at right tackle. Over the last two years, he allowed just one sack, while also being a prominent piece in Wazzu’s running game, which averaged 122 yards per game.

Possessing great length for the position, Lucas has ideal size and strength to anchor the right side of the line. He’s technically sound in pass blocking, with his hands matching his feet. He rarely lunges into blocks, allowing his length and natural core strength take over rushers, locking them down with great hand usage. Off the snap, his hands pop and land with force into the chest, and sustain while his core strength allows his feet to stick inside.

As a run blocker, Lucas allows his reach to help him lean into blocks and drive back defenders off the line. His strength and length pushes his initial attack forward, and bulls over defenders when they are adjusting or caught off-guard. He clearly has the right mentality in the run game, as he takes on blocks with a meanness, and seeks to finish with authority.

Click here to read the full Lucas scouting report.

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Seahawks tackle top offensive line needs early in the 2022 NFL draft

Seahawks tackle top offensive line needs with first, third-round picks

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The Seahawks appear to be trying to rebuild their offensive line from the outside in. With their first pick of the 2022 NFL draft on Thursday night, Seattle selected Mississippi State’s Charles Cross, who projects to replace Duane Brown as the team’s starter at left tackle.

Moments ago, the Seahawks may have filled their hole at right tackle. Picking at No. 72 overall in the third round of the draft, they chose Washington State’s Abraham Lucas, one of the top right tackle prospects in this class.

Prior to these two getting drafted, Seattle’s projected starters at these two positions had been Stone Forsythe and Jake Curhan, both rookies in 2021. Their No. 1 options last season were Duane Brown and Brandon Shell, who both remain free agents.

It’s never a sure thing which offensive line prospects will work out in the NFL – especially the ones picked by this team – however, the Seahawks are getting the process right at least in this part of the game. With OT now fully-secured on both sides, they can move to address other spots.

By passing once again on Malik Willis and Desmond Ridder (who was drafted moments later by the Falcons) it’s become pretty clear Seattle is not partaking in this class of QBs.

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Seahawks projected to have worst pass protecting OL in the NFL

Heading into 2022 that situation might be worse than ever before.

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Many factors contributed to the divorce between Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. Near the top of the list was the team’s inability to keep him clean in the pocket over the years. While Wilson’s style of play certainly contributed to his high sack rate, Seattle has consistently had one of the worst pass protecting offensive lines in the NFL over the last 10 years.

Heading into 2022 that situation might be worse than ever before. At the moment, Seattle has no proven starters on the roster at right tackle or left tackle and their center situation is thin at best. According to an analysis by Ben Baldwin, the Seahawks are currently projected to have the worst pass protecting offensive line in the NFL this year.

Bringing back left tackle Duane Brown and right tackle Brandon Shell would help – and Pete Carroll says both are still in play for the Seahawks to re-sign.

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