Jarran Reed has been around a bit. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2016 and has played every season of his career in Seattle except for two. In other words, he has seen a lot of iterations of the team's offensive line in practice, so he has become accustomed to what to expect.
Most of what Reed has seen hasn't been good. Perhaps the coaching wasn't up to par, or maybe there simply wasn't enough overall talent on the O-line. Reed thinks this year might be different, though.
Speaking with the Seahawks' official website after an organized team activity (OTA) last week, the team's first set of OTAs before mandatory minicamp and the summer break, the defensive tackle said he has noticed a fundamental change in the O-line this offseason versus previous ones.
Jarran Reed gives the Seahawks offensive line high marks early in OTAs
Reed said, "You can sense the physicality of the offensive line. They come off the ball low and hard. We've got some good guys on there. I think that goes to the coaching and the offensive coordinator we brought in. I think they're cooking up something really good."
That might be the best thing a Seahawks player has said about the offensive line in years. Plus, Reed mentions the perfect trifecta: The talent is there, the coaching is better, and the scheme should help the line, too.
Of course, at this point, there is no contact between players. That won't come until training camp. As good as Seattle's offensive line might be, the defensive line has proven to be very good. Once contact begins, the D-line might have its way.
Left tackle Charles Cross, perhaps the only player of merit on the 2024 unit, also thinks the offensive line is in better shape than since he was drafted by the team in 2022.
He told the Seahawks site, "(We will) be able to control the game and run the ball, give us a chance to run the ball, let our backs do their thing, and set things up for the receivers. I feel like this type of offense is dynamic, a lot of big plays from the run and pass game."
Seahawks fans might be right in waiting until the real games begin to truly judge the offensive line, though. They have seen too much poor play from the unit, often holding the rest of the offense back from reaching its potential. There are reasons for hope, however.
General manager John Schneider might have surprised the fan base by choosing guard Grey Zabel in the first round of the 2025 draft. Zabel is big enough and athletic enough to start right away, and the expectation is that he will be immediately good.
If that happens, Cross continues his good play, and right tackle Abraham Lucas can stay healthy, the line might finally be good. That should mean a more efficient offense to go along with a very good defense, which could mean a playoff spot for the Seahawks this coming season.