Seahawks' Mike Macdonald keeping one key position secret from Broncos in Week 1

The Seattle Seahawks finalized their active 53-man roster this week. The depth chart might still be unknown, though, and that is exactly how new head coach Mike Macdonald wants it. To be sure, one clear difference between Macdonald and former head coach Pete Carroll is that Macdonald is a lot more tight-lipped about what some future plans are.

A phrase 12s are going to have to get used to Macdonald using is that the team has a "pretty good feel" for something but does not say what the plan is. The truth is that Macdonald owes the media and fans nothing about what his team is going to do. Releasing any gray information only helps the team that Seattle is about to play.

Case in point is one question that Macdonald avoided answering this week when discussing Week 1 versus the Denver Broncos. The coach was asked about who might start at right guard. The battle is likely between Anthony Bradford and rookie Christian Haynes. Bradford started some at the spot in 2023 but was not overly good. Starting a rookie anywhere is iffy most of the time, especially to begin the season.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald hush-hush about who will start at right guard in Week 1

Macdonald said, "We have a pretty good feel for how we're going to line up next week at this point, just kind of keep it under wraps and let (the Broncos) figure it out the first snap of the game."

The above includes another phrase Macdonald likes to use: "Keep it under wraps." Again, this differs from Carroll who was, at times, a bit too open about how he saw things.

Of course, it won't take long for Denver to adjust to whoever is playing right guard. The difference is in knowing a player's tendencies. Bradford is the better-known commodity since he played last season. Denver players could watch film of Haynes if they wanted, but there is likely no need to.

The interesting part is what else Mike Macdonald knows but may not be telling us. He was also asked about center Connor Williams who the Seahawks recently signed. When healthy, he should be the starter. Macdonald said that the team would review where Williams is in terms of health - he is coming off an ACL injury in 2023 - before making a decision on whether the center can play Week 1.

Maybe Macdonald already knows Williams will play but does not want the Broncos to know. If that is the case, Seattle's offensive line will be left tackle Charles Cross, left guard Laken Tomlinson, center Williams, right guard unknown, and right tackle George Fant. That has the makings of a quality offensive line. The team just needs whoever is playing right guard to be good.

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