The offensive line remains a wildcard
We’ve frequently discussed the possibility that the Seahawks might spend one of their first two picks on the offensive line. There’s also been a little bit of smoke along the way.
In an exchange on X a few weeks ago, Lance Zierlein told me he’d heard O-line for the Seahawks at #32. The peerless Brady Henderson wrote a pre-free agency piece suggesting the Seahawks would check-in on the veteran market for guards (they didn’t sign anyone, so it leaves open the possibility of a draft addition). Tony Pauline, who I’ll be interviewing on Monday, reported the Seahawks have been showing interest in Emmanuel Pregnon.
ESPN’s Jordan Reid added this today:
Olaivavega Ioane (Penn State) is the clear top interior offensive lineman, but many sources believe as many as three interior blockers could go in the first round. Texas A&M’s Chase Bisontis, Oregon’s Emmanuel Pregnon and Georgia Tech’s Keylan Rutledge were mentioned as the top candidates to sneak in. The Chargers and Seahawks were two teams repeatedly suggested as ones to watch here.
I think this is a very real possibility. Without going over old ground too much, I don’t think it’s an Anthony Bradford issue necessarily either.
The Seahawks won a Super Bowl in part because of great play in the trenches and physical domination of opponents. Adding to that strength would be understandable. Bradford is out of contract in 12 months and seems somewhat unlikely to be extended. Drafting a player who can be cost-effective for the next four years would potentially set up your line for the next half-decade, with your two guards on cheap rookie deals for the imminent future.
In a draft without a lot of sparkle or depth, it’d be a reasonable way to come out of it feeling like you could find some impact — because there are players at guard who feel like they could start quickly, just as Zabel did a year ago.
In the week we identified the players who achieved a +75 grade for zone-blocking per PFF while also scoring a 95 or higher for weighted TEF (excellent explosive traits at good size):
Emmanuel Pregnon
Gennings Dunker
Kadyn Proctor
Spencer Fano
Keylan Rutledge
Blake Miller
Pregnon and Rutledge were both named in Reid’s report.
Bisontis is an explosive tester (3.03 in TEF, 95.4 in wTEF) but his zone grade is one of the worst in the class (66.0). I don’t think this necessarily excludes him because several are projecting him to go in the late first or early second round range. I personally have him graded lower than that but I’m not making the pick. He’s athletic and they might think they can work on his zone skills — but it is worth noting he didn’t excel in zone at Texas A&M.
Is there anything else that could further signify potential interest from the Seahawks?
John Schneider referenced ’30-30-30′ a year ago, meaning a 30-inch vertical, 30 reps on the bench press and a +30 score on the testing that was typically referred to as ‘Wonderlic’ in the past. We don’t have any ‘Wonderlic’ information but Bisontis, Pregnon and Rutledge all managed +30 inches on the vertical. Pregnon had 32 reps on the bench, Bisontis 29 and Rutledge 28 — so they are all in the ballpark.
A year ago when the Seahawks selected Zabel and Bryce Cabeldue, both were explosive testers (3.23 and 3.25 in TEF respectively) but they were also athletic. Zabel ran a 4.60 short shuttle, while Cabeldue managed a 4.59.
Many of us wondered whether the Seahawks would pivot to other guards if Zabel wasn’t available — and there was a feeling after the draft that they would’ve at least considered Tyler Booker or Jonah Savaiinaea. It might surprise you to know that Booker ran a 4.65 shuttle, with Savaiinaea managing a 4.66.
If that is indicative of anything, Rutledge ran a combine-best 4.54 shuttle. Bisontis only managed a 4.78, while Pregnon ran a 4.81 at his pro-day.
That would suggest that if they were looking for a complete package, Rutledge might be the closest to it. He’s near enough hitting two of the three 30-30-30 marks (and it could be all three if we had the mental testing data). He’s an explosive player for his size with excellent agility. His zone-blocking grade is decent and he played right guard at Georgia Tech.
With increasing chatter that he might sneak into round one — it’s possible the Seahawks could be the team to make that call.
Here are my scouting notes for him:
A well sized guard with reasonable (but not great) movement skills. He’s massive — 6-3 and 316lbs with 10-inch hands and nearly 34-inch arms. He was also the eighth fastest offensive lineman at the Senior Bowl, managing a top-speed of 13.36mph.
He didn’t give up a sack in 2025 and only conceded six pressures. That ranked eighth among all guards in college football who played +50% snaps for the fewest pressures.
Rutledge progresses well to the second level and finds intermediate targets. He has shown he can pull with ease to the left side and block on the move. He loves to finish his blocks and plays with a genuinely unpleasant edge for the opponent.
There’s really strong evidence of combo-blocking, including some top highlights on tape. He drives people off the line and will displace opponents to create opportunities in the running game.
His feet are a little bit stiff when he stands his ground and he doesn’t always move well when engaged. I do wonder if his mobility is good enough to play zone at a truly high level at the next level. The upright nature of his blocks causes problems sometimes. He had some inconsistent games — especially against NC State in 2025. When he loses early he doesn’t always have a solution to counter.
He can anchor with a strong back to hold his position. His hands get inside to control blocks nicely and he plays with heaviness in his punch. Rutledge is extremely competitive and plays right to the whistle and beyond.
A former all-state Basketball player. There’s clearly a player here it’s just how high are you prepared to take him?
Lance Zierlein gave him a R2/3 grade while Bob McGinn’s sources say R3/4. Todd McShay has him at #74 on his big board. He’s at #47 in Daniel Jeremiah’s top-50. I’ve got him in R2/3 too. So the consensus would say more of a target at #64 than #32 — yet there is growing buzz that he’ll go early.
He reminds me a little bit of Cooper Beebe, who the Seahawks apparently tried to trade up for in 2024. Beebe ran a 4.61 shuttle and while his vertical was underwhelming (27.5 inches) he did manage a 9-1 broad jump.
Beebe was the 73rd pick in his draft. I still think #64 would be more reasonable and understandable for Rutledge.
It certainly feels plausible though that they could take a guard with one of their first two picks. Remember, of the 32 ‘first two picks’ Schneider has made during his time as GM in Seattle, 19 have been used on an offensive or defensive lineman.
A quick final note — Gennings Dunker was also explosive for his size, had a strong zone-blocking grade, jumped a +30 inch vertical, managed 29 reps on the bench and ran a 4.63 shuttle. Don’t count him out.
Speaking of D-liners…
I spent three hours talking Seahawks and draft with Brandon from the ‘Hawks Nest’ earlier (see the video below). One of the things we talked about was Florida defensive lineman Caleb Banks.
I’ve long been a fan of Banks. His flashes on tape are exciting. His physical profile is incredibly rare — 6-6, 327lbs, 35-inch arms, 11-inch hands and yet ran a 5.04 with a broken foot while jumping 32-inch vertical and a 9-6 broad.
This is a special set of numbers.
I think he also deserves credit for what happened last season. He hurt his foot, missed a bunch of games and could’ve shut it down. Instead he came back and finished the season for Florida, then attended the Senior Bowl and was doing everything at the combine before his foot shut things down again.
An unnamed AFC National Scout told Lance Zierlein:
“I have tremendous respect for him. He hurt his foot in camp, tried to play through it and then had to have surgery in September. Most guys who are top-50 (prospects) would have just shut it down but he busted his tail to make it back for the last two games. That says something about his character.”
He really stands out on tape when he’s winning, just as he did at the Senior Bowl. He has a clear problem with conditioning though — he gets tired too easily and often after making a play it’s followed by a lousy effort because he’s gassed.
As a team you have to ask this. Can we get him fitter? Can we do anything to stop the injuries? If the answers are ‘yes’ to both questions, you have a potential steal on your hands.
We have no idea how teams are assessing his medicals, so we can’t say ‘I would take a chance on him’. You wouldn’t if the doctors were telling you not to draft him. If the news is more positive though, this is a sneaky opportunity.
Chris Jones lasted to the #37 pick in 2016 because teams saw him as a loafer. He ended up becoming one of the key reasons why the Chiefs won multiple Super Bowls. Jeffrey Simmons is one of the top defenders in the league. He fell in the draft due to concerning reported incidents with the law and an ACL tear.
Not every gamble pays off. The Seahawks tried it with Malik McDowell and it came back to bite them. That might’ve put them off ever making a pick like this.
If Banks is destined to last to #32 though — and it seems increasingly like he will do — it’s worth more than a passing thought.
Here are some of his Senior Bowl highlights:
Being able to use him in a heavy rotation would help in year one. Then, in the future, he might be capable of transitioning to a more regular role as a core piece next to Byron Murphy and hopefully Rylie Mills.
The chances of a more talented player lasting to #32 is unlikely. A year ago the Seahawks talk a small risk on the reported character issues associated with Nick Emmanwori. They also took Elijah Arroyo in round two despite his injury concerns.
Are they willing to take another shot, this time with Banks? You’d have to be wary of a man that size with persistent foot injuries and he might not get a medical thumbs up. If he did though, he’s a name to talk about still.
Here are my scouting notes on Banks:
He has enormous size and length (6-6, 325lbs, 35-inch arms) and 10 3/4 inch hands. The first thing to note is he has the physical potential to be special. There are not many humans who look like him or move this well at his size.
He can play across the line in different positions — nose, 1-tech, 3-tech, 5-tech. That versatility is critical in today’s NFL.
He barely played in 2025 due to injury issues.
Banks barges his way into the backfield. He can swipe away blockers’ hands to keep his frame clean and skip into backfield. He throws off blockers with disdain when performing at his best. He can bully mediocre interior linemen in the run game.
He will shock interior blockers with his quickness. There’s evidence of an effective push-pull move on tape. His lateral agility is astonishing on some reps.
He tries a slightly laboured spin move at times. He’s better when controlling blockers with a straight arm that allows him to plot a course to the QB or play the run.
He has an upright style at times when he gets tired, then he gets lazy and he’s an occasional waist bender. You get the sense he gets gassed too easily and needs conditioning work. He also doesn’t tend to explode through gaps with burst and will always need to work to create pressure, there won’t be a ton of quick wins.
If you don’t get into his frame early in the rep he will take advantage. He’s very capable of running around blocks when gaps are created through stunts. There’s a great swim move to penetrate shown on tape. When he attacks gaps in the running game he’s had success and can get even better here — and he has a jolting punch to bench-press opponents to stay clean and disengage.
He’s a ball of clay ready to be moulded into a disruptive, brutish force. The uniqueness of his frame and testing profile should ensure interest early in the draft. You don’t see many players with these traits.
Here’s the video with Brandon from earlier with more on Banks, the Seahawks and plenty of other topics:
