Playoffs or Not, Seattle Seahawks Must Embrace Youth Movement Along Offensive Line
Riding a two-game losing streak and barely clinging onto the final wild card spot in the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks have been sputtering in large part due to a grounded offense for more than a month.
Scoring 20 or fewer points four times in the past six games, including being shut out of the end zone in losses to the Ravens and 49ers, everyone deserves a piece of blame pie on offense for the Seahawks. After winning Comeback Player of the Year, quarterback Geno Smith has seen his touchdown percentage cut nearly 50 percent and completion rate drop nearly five percent, while offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has been under fire for failing to maximize on the team's skill talent.
But in their defense, Smith and Waldron have both had their hands tied behind their backs to an extent due to a banged up Seattle offensive line that has gradually gotten worse as the season has progressed. Starting eight different combinations in 11 games, including four different right tackles, coach Pete Carroll praised the group for their resourcefulness on Sunday while also acknowledging the harsh reality that run blocking and pass protection haven't been good enough.
“It’s been admirable that they’ve jumped up and played to the caliber that they have. We’ve had a ton of variations in that," Carroll said. "We have felt like we have quality depth, because we can rely on these guys to jump in and do their job and give us a chance. I think it’s been really good in that regard. We have not been overly successful in running the football or protecting as well as we liked yet, but there’s a continuity that may still come to us as we go down the stretch here. I’m looking forward to that happening."
Through 12 weeks, Seattle's offensive line has been a textbook definition of average, a middling group in every sense of the word. ESPN currently has the unit ranked 16th in Pass Block Win Rate and 13th in Run Block Win rate, while Pro Football Focus has them graded out 22nd in pass protection and 10th in run blocking. From that perspective, things could certainly be worse in the Pacific Northwest.
But with their season hanging in the balance and teams such as the Rams and Packers closing in on them in the wild card race, that simply won't cut it. Keeping an eye towards the future without compromising the present with six guaranteed games remaining on the schedule, it's time for Carroll and the Seahawks to implement a full-blown youth movement up front.
In some regards, Seattle already has checked off this box. After missing three games earlier in the season with a toe injury, second-year left tackle Charles Cross has played some of his best football as of late, giving up no sacks or quarterback hits in three consecutive games. Per PFF, the ascending former top-10 pick currently ranks 15th in pass blocking grade out of 48 qualified tackles.
According to Carroll, the Seahawks also have a good chance to get fellow second-year tackle Abraham Lucas back in the lineup. The former third-round pick out of Washington State, who started 16 regular season games as a rookie last season, returned to practice two weeks ago after receiving an injection in his knee back in September.
"He’s practicing this week and we’re going to see if he can play," Carroll said of Lucas' status. "We’ll find out. He’s got to withstand the rigors of the week as always and we’ll determine that later on.”
Without Lucas, who has been out since Week 1, Seattle has started Jake Curhan, Stone Forsythe, and most recently 41-year old veteran Jason Peters at right tackle. Per PFF, that trio has accounted for 38.6 percent of the total pressures on Geno Smith, the second-worst percentage for a right tackle group in the entire NFL.
Stone Forsythe allowed five pressures and two sacks in Seattle's most recent loss to San Francisco, but the team hopes to have starter Abraham Lucas back at right tackle as early as Thursday in Dallas.
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Individually, Forsythe and Curhan each have allowed at least 26 pressures and rank a dreadful 78th and 79th in PFF's pass blocking efficiency rate out of 81 qualified tackles. Peters has been a slight upgrade in recent weeks, but he still has posted a pass blocking efficiency rate under 95 percent.
Getting a healthy Lucas back in the lineup across from Cross would undoubtedly be a game changer for the offense, giving the Seahawks a boost with both of their talented young bookends protecting Smith for the final stretch run.
But away from those two spots, Seattle has question marks at all three interior positions beyond this season. Though it remains to be seen whether he will come back on a second contract, in the short-term, fourth-year left guard Damien Lewis has been serviceable this season and the team doesn't have any better options to replace him right now in the present. A decision on his future will come next spring.
At the other guard spot, however, the Seahawks already have gotten a glimpse of rookie Anthony Bradford's potential. The fourth-round pick started three games in place of Phil Haynes earlier in the season and while their pass blocking efficiency rates are near identical, the ex-LSU standout has been significantly better in the run blocking department, ranking 19th out of 85 qualified guards in PFF grade compared to Haynes' 60th overall ranking.
With Haynes slated to be an unrestricted free agent in March and struggling again with durability this year, Seattle would be wise to see what Bradford can do for the rest of this season to evaluate him as a long-term starting option, and the same can be said at the center position as well.
Back in March, the Seahawks signed veteran Evan Brown to a one-year contract and after beating out rookie Olu Oluwatimi for the starting job in training camp, he got off to a strong start. Unfortunately, his play has regressed substantially over the past couple of months, including surrendering three sacks and six quarterback pressures in the past three games alone.
In the pass protection department, Brown ranks 22nd in pass block efficiency rate (97.3 percent), 10th in pressures allowed (18), and fifth in sacks given up (three) out of 35 qualified centers. Consistently struggling to move defenders off the line of scrimmage, he also ranks a dismal 32nd in run blocking grade (53.5).
While Oluwatimi has played far fewer snaps than Bradford to this point, the fifth-round pick out of Michigan has been impressive in limited action. In his lone start replacing Brown against the Cardinals in Week 7, he allowed one pressure on 29 pass blocking reps, and he delivered a key block on a goal line rushing touchdown by Ken Walker III in a Week 2 win over the Lions.
Offering a wealth of experience coming into the NFL with over 3,500 college snaps at center playing for Michigan and Virginia, Oluwatimi should be more than ready for his first crack at a starting job. Considering Brown's diminishing play over several weeks and the urgency the Seahawks currently face trying to improve protection for Smith, making a switch at this stage should be a no-brainer.
Still clinging to the seventh seed in the NFC playoff standings with a rematch against San Francisco looming in two weeks, Seattle has much left to play for. But if the offense can't get untracked, with several challenging opponents on tap in the next three weeks, any hopes of salvaging the season and potentially making noise in the playoffs in January won't be fulfilled.
Though the offensive line doesn't deserve all the blame, the Seahawks have been receiving marginal play at multiple positions up front for several weeks running with three pending free agents starting in the interior. In an effort to spark a dormant offense while also assessing the state of the line for 2024 and beyond, there isn't a better time to see what Oluwatimi and Bradford can do.
