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Seahawks bye-week grades for 2017: Offensive line

By Lee Vowell

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 08: Tanner McEvoy #19, Russell Wilson #3, Justin Britt #68 and Oday Aboushi #75 of the Seattle Seahawks wait to get on the field before the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 08: Tanner McEvoy #19, Russell Wilson #3, Justin Britt #68 and Oday Aboushi #75 of the Seattle Seahawks wait to get on the field before the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on October 8, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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The Seahawks have made it through the first five games of 2017 at 3-2. Seattle is tied for first place in the NFC West and holds the tiebreak. It is far too early to tell how the season is going to go, but here is how the offensive line is doing so far.

Well, to be honest – and we should all practice honesty, right? – the offensive line has been mostly bad in 2017. This isn’t a shock, right? I mean Pro Football Focus has the Seahawks offensive linemen currently rated as follows:

Right tackle Germain Ifedi is 48th best tackle out of 69 players.

Left tackle Rees Odhiambo is 69th, and therefore worst.

Center Justin Britt is the eighth best center in the league. So that’s good.

Left guard Luke Joeckel is 45th out of 72 guards.

Right guard Oday Aboushi is 64th.

Basically, what we know going into the Seattle bye-week is what we knew going into the season. Britt is pretty good. The rest of the line is awful. No wonder the Seahawks have entertained left tackle Branden Albert this week. Will they sign him? Probably not. But he would be an upgrade.

And isn’t that the most frustrating aspect of Seattle’s line? Sure, the Seahawks traded for defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson before the season. But they could have signed Andrew Whitworth. Or Russell Okung. Or heck, they could have just kept Okung the first time.

Ifedi remains perhaps the most disappointing player. And not because he is consistently bad. Against the Los Angeles Rams he was the fifth highest graded Seahawk. He can be very good. Or he can be terrible. And one never knows what is coming.

Joeckel will now miss 2-4 weeks after getting his surgically repaired knee scoped. The answer behind him is even worse than he has played. Mark Glowinski knows the position, but he isn’t very good. If Seattle was to sign Albert, for instance, Odhiambo could slide over to left guard, a position he is by far more familiar with.

Related Story: Seahawks bye-week grades: How good have the running backs been?

The problem with the line, really, is the same as it has been in recent years. There is not enough talent. The play is inconsistent. Seattle does not appear to really want to address the lack of talent other than through the draft. But they make poor draft picks on the line. It won’t get better unless the Seahawks address the issue through free agency.

Grade: D

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