Seahawks got destroyed by an NFC West rival this offseason in one important area

The Seattle Seahawks have a decently talented roster with excellent skill position players on offense and a new head coach that should make the defense better. But there is one position group for Seattle that could cause the offense to be a lot less efficient, and therefore not reach maximum productivity. Has 12th Man Rising, as well as almost every other Seahawks site, written about how bad the interior of the offensive line is? Yes, and we will likely continue to do so.

That is because a bad offensive line can keep an otherwise good team from reaching the playoffs. Can the issue be fixed in the 2024 NFL draft? Somewhat, at least at one guard spot if Seattle chooses a player such as Washington's Troy Fautanu in the first round. That still leaves potential holes at the other guard spot and at center.

General manager John Schneider might be planning for Olu Oluwatimi to take over full-time at center and Anthony Bradford to do the same at right guard. These two players might be OK, but one could say that about any prospective player at those positions. Based on what we saw from Oluwatimi and Bradford in their rookie seasons, they are not yet ready to be good in the NFL.

The Rams improved their offensive line while the Seattle Seahawks are still searching

A recent X/Twitter post in response to an article we posted on 12th Man Rising carries some concern. The tweet read, "Hilarious...EVERY owner demands/mandates a contender. Unfortunately it’s easier said than done. Where at that time where (sic) fans are hyper critical, over analyzing the roster. This year the popular complaint is the guards. Last few years it was center. The picture isn’t complete."

Some of that is true, but the key part is that if center was the main area of concern in years past, the issue wasn't fixed, was it (for example, this will be the third straight season Seattle will begin the season with a different center than the season before)? And guard is not the only concern in 2024; both guard spots and center are worries. Plus, the same person to blame for not fixing the issue at center - John Schneider - is the person charged with fixing the guard spots. Can he do it? We have to wait and see (and again, the problem could partially be fixed in the draft).

Meanwhile, Seahawks fans and Schneider have watched this offseason as the Los Angeles Rams appeared to have corrected their own interior offensive line problem by being aggressive in free agency. To begin free agency, Seattle had more money to spend than did the Rams so there should have been no issues with the Rams affording something Seattle could not. Head coach Sean McVay and Los Angeles just prioritized differently than Seattle.

Los Angeles signed Jonah Jackson, for which ESPN gave the Rams an A grade for the deal, and re-signed Kevin Dotson. Seattle let walk the equivalent of Dotson, Damien Lewis, in free agency. The Seahawks only signed center Nick Harris and, ironically, Rams cast-off Tremayne Anchrum, Jr. Los Angeles now likely has one of the best guard duos in the league to protect quarterback Matthew Stafford and open holes for the running game.

Meanwhile, Seattle is still searching. Even if the team does draft Fautanu, Los Angeles probably still has the better offensive line. Seattle might be battling Los Angeles for a Wild Card playoff spot in 2024 and if it comes down to which offensive line is better, the Seahawks will miss the playoffs and the Rams will get in.

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