7 Seattle Seahawks players who can outperform their pay grade in 2024

Right tackle George Fant

• 2024 cap hit: $3,430,000

There is a very good chance that Fant is the starter at right tackle for the majority of the season. He was signed this offseason to be insurance in case Abraham Lucas could not play after offseason surgery for a knee problem, but Lucas was expected back by training camp. And then the preseason. Now, he will begin the season on PUP and miss at least the first four games.

Fant has been a solid player over the course of his career. Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seahawks, he has since played with the New York Jets and Houston Texans. He's better as a pass protector, but he is solid at run-blocking as well. If Lucas does return at some point, Fant has the ability to back up either left or right tackle.

The 11 right tackles with the highest cap hits in 2024 all have a number of $10.5 million or more. This is not to say Fant is among the 11 best right tackles in the league, but even if he finishes as one of the top 20, he is still well underpaid.

Left guard Laken Tomlinson

• 2024 cap hit: $1,210,000

Tomlinson is paid even less than other left guards. The veteran is 39th among left guards in cap hits this season. This is an extremely far cry from the cap hit of almost $11 million that Tomlinson had in 2023 with the New York Jets. Last year was not the left guard's best, though, as he gave up a career-high seven sacks and he is now 32 years old.

That could just be a one-year dip, however, as Tomlinson has been quite good over the course of his career in pass protection. He also graded well, according to Pro Football Focus (paywall alert), in run-blocking as recently as 2021. He isn't so old that he can't get back to being good again.

Tomlinson also doesn't miss games. He has missed one in his nine-year career and has started every game since 2018. Cohesiveness is a key to offensive line efficiency and Tomlinson will be available each game to help build that cohesion.