Staying in State, Abraham Lucas Psyched to Play For Hometown Seahawks

RENTON, WA - With only 32 teams in the league and less than 300 players selected in the draft each year, it's rare for an incoming NFL prospect to be picked by the team they grew up rooting for.

Heralding from Everett, Washington, a suburb north of Seattle, Washington State's Abraham Lucas can now be counted among those select few. Making his lifelong dream of playing in the league a reality by selecting him 72nd overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Seahawks kept him close to home to further reinforce their offensive line with one of college football's best pass protecting tackles.

“It’s surreal, I’ll tell you. I have a lot of emotions right now, I’m not really sure where to place all of them," Lucas told reporters shortly after speaking with general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll on the phone.

Before starring at Archbishop Murphy High School, one of the state's true prep powerhouses, Lucas remembers watching countless Seahawks games with his father. His first memory? Feeling disappointment and angst after his hometown team lost 21-10 to the Steelers in Super Bowl XL back in February 2006.

In that game, Seattle infamously found itself on the receiving end of several questionable calls made by Bill Leavy's crew. Officials wiped out a touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Darrell Jackson with a ticky-tack interference call. Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger controversially was awarded a touchdown on a QB sneak where the ball didn't appear to break the goal line. Later, a completion from Hasselbeck to tight end Jerramy Stevens that moved the Seahawks inside the Steelers' five-yard line was called back for an iffy holding penalty on tackle Sean Locklear.

Just seven years old at the time, Lucas and his father certainly weren't happy with the end result. But eventually, the Seahawks would enact revenge and finally get their first Lombardi Trophy by whipping the Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII. Now, in a homecoming of sorts traveling back westward via I-90 and highway 26, the 6-foot-6, 315-pound tackle will have a chance to help the franchise get back to the big game as a player.

“I didn’t know, I didn’t really have any expectations on anything," Lucas said when asked if he thought Seattle might draft him. "As more people kept getting pulled off of the board, I just said, ‘All in God’s timing.’ Low and behold, pick number 72 and 72 was my number in college, so it’s a little ironic.”

Set to compete for immediate playing time at right tackle against Jake Curhan and potentially Stone Forsythe, Lucas brings quite the resume back with him to Seattle. After redshirting his first season in Pullman, he jumped into the starting lineup and received Freshman All-American honors protecting Gardner Minshew. In four seasons as a starter, he earned All-Pac 12 recognition, including a First-Team selection as a senior in 2021.

Excelling in pass-heavy Air Raid and Run N' Shoot offenses under three different coaching regimes, Pro Football Focus credited him with 49 total pressures allowed on nearly 2,200 career pass blocking reps. Thanks in large part to his light feet and plus-athleticism mirroring against pass rushers, he surrendered just one sack and two quarterback hits in his final two collegiate seasons.

Considering the systems he played in and resulting lack of run blocking reps, the Seahawks had to do their homework on Lucas to see whether or not he would be a viable fit for their offensive line. He didn't receive near as good of marks from PFF as a run blocker, earning a pedestrian 68.3 grade in 2021, casting questions for some about how he would handle a more expanded workload in that capacity.

But in addition to his pass protecting talents, Schneider, Carroll, and Seattle's scouting department were equally impressed by his physicality and penchant for driving defenders to the turf in the run game and after working him out a week prior to the draft, they had no hesitations about selecting him.

“Abe is a finisher," Schneider remarked. "He’s a real strong man of faith, but he doesn’t look like it when he’s playing football. The guy is a big finisher in the run game.”

After playing exclusively out of a two-point stance at Washington State, like his new teammate Charles Cross, who Seattle picked in at No. 9 overall in the first round, Lucas knows a test awaits him transitioning to a pro-style scheme where he will be asked to put his hand in the dirt and get after it in the run game. There will be growing pains for both young tackles after playing under coach Mike Leach in a system predicated on slinging the pigskin all over the yard.

But Lucas showed he could hold his own working out of a three-point stance at the Senior Bowl in February, leaving a positive impression for teams such as Seattle as his stock continued to rise heading towards the draft. Confident in his talent and the versatility of his game, he has no reservations about his ability to adapt and become comfortable in a run-heavy offense.

“It will certainly be a challenge, but everything is a challenge on this level and in the game of football," Lucas said. "It’ll be something that I can excel at as much as I did with the Air Raid stuff in college, so I’m excited about the opportunity.”

When it comes to setting expectations, Lucas isn't aiming to reinvent the wheel as he embarks on his NFL journey with the team he grew up cheering for. He simply wants to do his job to the best of his ability in all facets, whether he's protecting Drew Lock, opening up a run lane for Rashaad Penny on a counter, or getting out on the perimeter hunting down corners and safeties on a screen.

If he's able to do that and secure a starting job early in his career, Lucas will provide an immediate upgrade at a position that has lacked stability for the Seahawks for most of the past decade. Under the tutelage of line coach Andy Dickerson, both he and Cross have a chance to grow together over time and give the franchise a pair of athletic, high-upside bookend blockers to build around long-term.

“I’m just a guy that likes to show up and do his job the best he can. It’s as simple as that. Don’t try and do anything super spectacular, just do what you’re coached to do and everything else will follow.”