Generally I think most people are content with the way the Seahawks have gone about their off-season. That’s where I’m at. Yet many fans are questioning the state of the offensive line and wondering what the plan is.
They’ve signed Tremayne Anchrum, a player most people hadn’t heard of. They also added George Fant — a very useful (and cheap) insurance policy against Abraham Lucas’ recovery from knee surgery.
Aside from that there’s been no big spend on the interior O-line, or even medium spend. John Schneider instead went on Seattle Sports last week and declared he believed guards were being ‘overpaid and over-drafted’.
There is some perspective to be had here.
Baltimore, unlike Seattle, are right in the middle of a Championship window. So far this off-season they’ve allowed John Simpson to leave and sign with the Jets, while Kevin Zeitler has gone to the Lions. They also traded Morgan Moses to the Jets.
Three fifths of their O-line will be different in 2024, yet they haven’t made any moves to replace these players.
Their current line looks like this — Ronnie Stanley at left tackle, Andrew Vorhees at left guard, Tyler Linderbaum at center, Ben Cleveland at right guard and Patrick Mekari at right tackle.
This isn’t dissimilar to the Seahawks.
Vorhees is a seventh round pick who dropped due to a knee injury sustained before the last draft. He had mid-round talent with some upside. Cleveland is a former third round pick who I liked a lot in the 2021 draft but he hasn’t been able to play consistently well. Mekari was undrafted in 2019 and has a guard body with short 31 inch arms.
The Ravens, like the Seahawks, are relying on linemen to make a step up — or they’re looking to the draft. Each team has also spent big money on a defensive tackle, plus they opted not to pay big money at linebacker or safety to keep their own players.
It’s possible both teams have messed up and have a bad plan. It’s also important to note that just because the Ravens do something, it doesn’t justify the Seahawks doing it too because they hired Mike Macdonald and would probably like to emulate their playing style.
I do think it provides some context though. Not every well run team is throwing money at guard. The Ravens probably had a far better chance of signing Kevin Zeitler this off-season — a player a lot of Seahawks fans wanted — and they let him go to Detroit.
The Ravens are hoping that Vorhees can take a step in year two, just as the Seahawks hope for the same from Anthony Bradford and Olu Oluwatimi. Both teams will need to add at least one lineman in the draft — and they probably feel comfortable doing so given the great strength of the group in this class.
Baltimore’s GM Eric DeCosta hasn’t announced he finds the guard position overpaid and over-drafted — but his actions match Seattle’s. He might share the view, he’s just not sharing it publicly.
PFF’s top graded guard in 2023 was former #14 pick Chris Lindstrom. Of the next fourteen players in the rankings, only two were first rounders — Zeitler and Tyler Smith (a player the Seahawks seemingly liked a lot in 2022).
The league lacks elite guard play at the moment and is instead full of ‘decent contributors’ who were previously mid-to-late round picks.
I have 22 interior linemen graded on my board that I think will go anywhere from pick #20 to the fourth round. There are seven other players I see frequently graded a lot higher than I have them. There are some players I’m yet to watch.
Basically, there are plenty of options. There’s never been a better draft as far as I can recall to do what the Seahawks and Ravens are preparing to do. There are also some older veterans still available on the market.
Scott Huff and Ryan Grubb have a proven track record developing linemen (albeit in college) and will probably thrive on having five starters who fit their athletic and playing style preferences rather than prioritising experience. I think they actually want a young group they can grow.
Eventually they’re probably going to have to use a high-ish pick on an interior player to add that bit of extra quality — and that could come this year. I think some perspective is important though. The Seahawks are not alone in their approach. It’s not just the Ravens. The Steelers are starting a seventh rounder at left tackle, moderately priced veterans at guard and center (none big names) and a first rounder at right tackle. If you pick through every team in the league, there are probably more in this boat than in the LA Rams/Detroit Lions one.
If the Seahawks drafted, say, Troy Fautanu in just over a month — their investment in the O-line would actually be more than most. They’d just be young — which again, might actually suit the Huff/Grubb system given the apparent desire for aggression and athleticism.
I’m not sure taking Noah Fant’s $7.5m cap hit this year and using it on the line instead would’ve got you much. Plus you’d have to find another tight end with some of that money. So overall, while there may be plenty of questions asked about Seattle’s approach to the offensive line — I think it’s somewhat understandable.
