You might want to skip ahead if you are a Seattle Seahawks fan. It is not pretty. In 2024, four-fifths of the Seahawks’ beleaguered offensive line didn’t grade out all that poorly.
The Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ratings ranged from excellent (left tackle Charles Cross’ 82.5 placed him in the top ten of all tackles) to average (center Olu Oluwatimi’s 64.2 was almost the exact league middle). Right tackle Abe Lucas (61.9) and left guard Laken Tomlinson (62.1) were similar to Oluwatimi. Then there was the right guard position.
Anthony Bradford, Sataoa Laumea, and Christian Haynes shared that spot in 2024. Their PFF grades were 48.3, 37.9, and 48.5, respectively. That is atrocious. Haynes, who only played 167 snaps despite being healthy the entire year, did not qualify for a PFF ranking.
Which Seahawks will be competing for the right guard spot in 2025?
Of the other two, Bradford played 578 snaps and ranked 72 out of 77 qualified guards in the league. Laumea (358 snaps) ranked dead last.
Clearly an upgrade in play is needed. The question remains, who on the current roster can provide it?
John Schneider spent his first-round draft pick on a talented offensive lineman who is likely to play guard. But because Seattle allowed Tomlinson to leave via free agency, Gray Zabel is projected to fill his spot on the left side.
It is hoped that Oluwatimi will continue to improve and that Lucas will stay healthy this year. If that is the case, Seattle could have 80 percent of a good offensive line. But it doesn’t mean very much if the right guard continues to underperform.
All three 2024 candidates – Bradford, Maumea, and Haynes – remain with the team. In addition to Zabel, Schneider drafted two other linemen who played tackle in college but could shift inside to guard in the NFL.
Another free agent signee, Josh Jones, also could be in the mix for guard, but he looks to be a replacement for the departed George Fant and Stone Forsythe as the primary swing tackle backup. Given Lucas’ injury history, that could be a critical position in and of itself.
Seattle wants Christian Haynes to win this job. They invested a third-round pick in the former Connecticut standout in the 2024 draft. He has size, power, and agility. He looks the part of a prototypical guard in a zone blocking scheme. The fact that he didn’t immediately adjust to life in the NFL is no cause for concern. That happens to plenty of players.
But the fact that he was never even given the chance to evolve in his rookie season is very concerning. Haynes was struggling, but Seattle elected to go with Laumea, drafted three rounds after Haynes, instead of letting their prized rookie work it out on the field. Had Laumea been playing well, that would have been fine. But Laumea did not play well. Still, he was the coaching staff’s choice.
It is hard to envision Laumea getting a long look this season, but it cannot be ruled out with the position in such disarray. Ideally, Haynes will thrive in the zone-heavy running schemes of new coordinator Klint Kubiak and will benefit from working under a new position coach.
In this case, that is the highly-experienced John Benton, who came from New Orleans along with Kubiak and knows the new offense very well.
But Haynes will have plenty of competition in camp. Rookie sixth-round pick Bryce Cabeldue could be one of the surprises this offseason. He started 50 games at the FBS level in college and has excellent physical gifts. You don’t often find a 300-pounder who can run a sub-five-second 40 while also going for 30 reps on the bench press.
Cabeldue’s talent should have had him going earlier than round six, but he never played guard in college. He rarely even lined up in a three-point stance. He must show he can translate his physical gifts on the interior. Coaching will be essential.
Then there is Bradford, who most fans have largely written off. No one could understand why the Hawks kept rolling him out there week after week with new players like Haynes and Laumea in the fold. His injury at the midpoint of the 2024 season opened the door for those youngsters, and fans got a firsthand reminder that the grass is not always greener.
Bradford has had good moments for Seattle, moments that remind us why he was a fourth-round pick at the age of 21. He is still younger than Haynes and only slightly older than Cabeldue. If the other young players can benefit from new coaching and a new scheme, perhaps Bradford can as well.
His problem up to now has been displaying consistency. If he can show that he has the talent to be in the mix this summer.
These are not the most exciting options – three young players who have failed to prove they belong in the league and a new sixth-round rookie. But really, only one of them has to step up and claim the job. I suspect that will be Haynes, although any of the others have a shot.
I’ll be most interested in seeing how Cabeldue looks when lined up against NFL defenders. If he holds his own, he could be the sleeper that completes the offensive line.