Seattle Seahawks rebuild: Fortifying the trenches has begun

Seahawks getting better in the trenches

With the Russell Wilson trade, the Seahawks amassed a solid amount of draft picks this season, and they nailed the draft. The best franchises in football typically have good to great trench play, both offensively and defensively.

We have seen what the 49ers have done with dominant trench play and bad quarterback play. They could easily have won two of the past three Super Bowls.

We saw what the Rams pass rush did to a superstar quarterback in Joe Burrow, who didn’t have a good enough O-line in the most recent super bowl. Getting to the QB, and protecting the QB is everything in the NFL.

The job isn’t done. The Hawks are still a Pro Bowl pass rusher short of being great. Cross and Lucas are young and will have growing pains, especially in run blocking. Seattle is also not going to be a contender this season but will be seeing young talented players grow and improve in 2022.

In 2023, the Seahawks will have a treasure trove of draft picks, in an extremely talent-rich draft that will have a half-dozen of first-round-talent-level quarterbacks. The opportunity for a young QB in 2023 to come in and succeed, much like Russ did in 2012, will be possible because Seattle could have a dominant offensive and defensive line.

These young and cheap assets at cornerstone positions allowed Seattle to sign and acquire star pieces in the last super bowl runs. This draft fortified the trenches, and Seattle could be on the same rapid path to contention again.

The legendary John Madden once said, “You can draw up all the plays you want, but when they snap the ball, if my Xs knock all your Os on their asses, you’ve got no chance.”