Over the past five drafts, Seattle Seahawks’ GM John Schneider has spent 11 picks on offensive linemen. That works out to be about 27 percent of all his picks in that time frame. Considering that most NFL rosters devote 18-19 percent of their space to the O-line, that tells you something.
It tells you that for quite some time now, Schneider has been trying to construct a quality line. The fact that six of those eleven picks came in the last two drafts suggests that he has not had much success.
Will this year be different? In addition to three draft picks on linemen, including the Hawks’ top pick, the GM gave his fifth-highest free agent contract of 2025 to an offensive lineman. Along with those four new players, Seattle has at least eight other linemen who saw the field in 2024 back for another ride.
New offensive line coach John Benton will begin molding that collection of players into the most cohesive and effective line possible, beginning in earnest with the 2025 training camp.
Three keys to look for during Seattle Seahawks training camp
As of now, several positions seem locked in. Charles Cross and Abe Lucas will be starting at left and right tackle. First-round draft pick Grey Zabel will be the new left guard. Center looks to be a battle between Olu Oluwatimi and Jalen Sundell, while right guard is shaping up to be a similar one-on-one contest between Anthony Bradford and Christian Haynes.
But how much of that is etched in stone? Cross at left tackle is really the only absolute certainty. Half of the linemen in serious contention for a roster spot have experience playing multiple positions. That makes Benton’s job a little crazy, but also offers some intriguing possibilities.
That job is to identify and develop the five best offensive linemen on the roster. What they did last year, whether that was in college or in the pros, doesn’t matter all that much. Two of last year’s All-Pro guards – Joe Thuney and Chris Lindstrom – played a lot of tackle in college. The Eagles' Mekhi Becton, a starter on their Super Bowl-winning team, was a failed tackle in the pros who resurrected his career by shifting to guard.
Josh Jones, who signed a one-year, four-million-dollar contract with the Hawks, figures to be the swing tackle, backing up both Cross and Lucas. But Jones has played guard. He started 12 games for Arizona at guard in 2021.
What if it turns out that Josh Jones is actually a better right guard than either Bradford or Haynes? That might have a ripple effect in opening the door a bit wider for second-year lineman Michael Jerrell to stick as a swing tackle.
So, question one to watch during camp is…
Will Josh Jones take any snaps at guard, or will he exclusively practice at the tackle spots?
The competition at center appears to be Oluwatimi versus Sundell. Oluwatimi has the inside track, based on the experience he gained last year when he assumed the role after the sudden retirement of Connor Williams at mid-season. But Sundell is a very solid player who should challenge for the starting role.
However, the best center on the Seahawks could well be a man who has never played the position save for taking snaps at a post-season college all-star game. A lot of analysts consider that Grey Zabel, who played everywhere but center at North Dakota State, has the potential to be an elite center in the NFL. If that’s true, even recognizing the major problems Seattle has at guard, Benton has to give at least some thought to playing Zabel at center.
Perhaps Josh Jones, or a rookie like Bryce Cabeldue, will prove capable of playing left guard. Therefore, the second question to keep an eye on in camp is …
Does Grey Zabel take any snaps at center, or is his locked in at left guard?
Finally, Abe Lucas has missed more than 60 percent of the Seahawks' games over the past two seasons. If healthy, he has the potential to be a strong bookend with Cross. But Seattle has to be prepared should he run into more health issues in 2025.
That’s ostensibly why Jones was signed. However, Zabel, Sundell, Cabeldue, and fellow 2025 draft pick Mason Richman all played tackle in college, as did Jerrell. All but Jerrell have been deemed better at an interior position, often because they lack the ideal length to play on the outside.
Ideal length is not the final word on the subject. Cleveland’s Joe Thomas came up just short of ideal arm length for a tackle. That’s Hall-of-Fame tackle Joe Thomas.
I’m not saying Bryce Cabeldue is the next Joe Thomas. I’m just saying it might be wise to see if any of the projected interior linemen can grow comfortable on the outside. If a starter goes down, and if Jones is needed at guard, one of these unheralded players could find himself as a vital part of the Seahawks’ offense.
And so, the third thing to look for at camp is…
Do any of the interior lineman take snaps at tackle?
It is highly likely that some or all of these things will happen in a minor way during the first few weeks of training camp. Starters will need some rest. Backups will need some reps that they won’t get once the season kicks off. So the mere fact that Josh Jones lines up for a few drills at guard or Zabel snaps the ball a couple of times is not, in and of itself, significant.
Look at who they’re lining up next to. If Jones takes snaps at left guard alongside Cross, that could matter more than if he’s playing next to Jerrell. Is Zabel playing center (let's hope not) with the other first-teamers, or with the backups?
Seattle is still trying to build its talent base on the offensive line, but one thing the current crop offers is positional flexibility. They have to experiment and make sure they identify the five best players they’ve got. Then Benton needs to mold them into a cohesive unit.
That need for cohesion means that these types of experiments are likely to happen early on. The Hawks do not want to still be shifting players all over the map well into August. By that point, the coaches should know – even if the fans don’t – who Seattle’s starting offensive line will be in 2025.