The Seattle Seahawks need improvement everywhere, but none more so than on the offensive line. And no player needs to step up more than right guard Anthony Bradford. The 12s will be watching his progress closely.
Anthony Bradford has been installed as the Seahawks' starting right guard. To a casual observer, there's no surprise there.
He held the job last season until an injury ended his season after Week 12. His replacements, Satoa Laumea and Christian Haynes, were no better. That's one reason why I'm shocked the team hasn't signed Dalton Risnor, or somebody who can play guard.
Everyone has their eye on Seattle Seahawks right guard Anthony Bradford
In fact, Laumea was terrible last season, with an overall grade of 37.9 and a shocking grade of 19.8 for pass blocking. That's per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). For reference, rookie Grey Zabel graded at 86.2 this preseason. Still, Laumea showed enough on the field to get six starts last year, while Haynes got none.
Laumea showed some improvement this preseason - granted, not much - but it's hard to imagine him getting worse at pass protection. So it was odd that Seattle kept Haynes and waived the more physical Laumea. Hey, at least the Seahawks brought him back on the practice squad. But let's get to Mr. Bradford.
The backup situation may be worrisome - okay, it's really worrisome - since the plan is to move starting center Jalen Sundell to guard and have Olu Oluwatimi play center. Yes, Sundell looks good in either role, but now you're down two starters. Hopefully, Oluwatimi is back to 100 percent, so if needed, this would still work. But if you'd just sign a backup guard, John... Okay, back on topic.
Bradford looked like a completely different player in the preseason. He was more decisive in pass blocking, allowing just one pressure in two games. In the running game, he brought back memories of the road grader, D.J. Fluker. Pro Football Focus graded him at 81.0 for the preseason. You don't have to get too mathy to see that's better than last year.
But we all know that once the regular season begins, everything changes. A player who looked like an All-Pro in the ultimately meaningless August games turns into a question mark for the practice squad in September. I don't believe that will happen with Bradford. He's young, he got in better condition, has better coaching, and is playing in a scheme that suits his skill set better. That being said, yeah, the 12s will be watching closely.