Coach Mike MacDonald recently announced the five players who will start on the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive line in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers. Here’s the lineup:
- Left tackle: Charles Cross
- Left guard: Grey Zabel
- Center: Jalen Sundell
- Right guard: Anthony Bradford
- Right tackle: Abraham Lucas
Three of the namesâCross, Zabel, and Lucasâhave been etched in stone for weeks, but the other two positions were up for grabs. Jalen Sundell, a second-year player out of North Dakota State, has won the starting center spot over Olu Oluwatimi. He will be the Seahawks’ seventh different opening day starting center in as many seasons. Anthony Bradford, a third-year player out of LSU, has long looked like a lock to start at right guard over Christian Haynes. After a pec injury sent Haynes to the IR, the spot was Bradford’s by default.
“We have made a decision on our offensive line,” Mike Macdonald said during an Aug. 28 press conference. “Abe will start at right tackle, Anthony Bradford will start at right guard, Jalen right now is our starting center, Grey’s obviously at left guard and Charles Cross is at left tackle. As you know, nothing is set in stone, but those guys have done a great job. Olu has done a phenomenal job, he’s ready to go if anything happened, but that’s the group we’ll start the season with.”
MacDonald added more context on the center battle, which was the most uncertain position on the offensive line. “It’s tricky because Olu was having a heck of a camp, probably playing the best football of his career before he got hurt, and Jalen just took advantage of the opportunity,” he said. “They were still competing at the time, and we felt like the way Jalen played against Kansas City (in the second preseason game) really put him in a premium position to ultimately start the season at center.”
Rebounding From a Disappointing 2024 Season
The offensive line was one of the Seahawks’ weakest units in 2024, allowing the most pressures (232) and hurries (165) in the NFL. They also surrendered 54 sacks, which was third-worst in the league.
Naturally, Seahawks fans are hoping this permutation of starters is an upgrade. It’s certainly been overhauled, at the very least. The Seahawks are returning just two O-line starters (Cross and Bradford) from opening day last season. Granted, Lucas would have started as well if he hadn’t begun 2024 on the PUP list.
Zabel, drafted No. 18 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, is perhaps the key addition. He performed well in the preseason and looks prepared to start right away as a rookie.
Reasons for Optimism Heading Into 2025
All five of the Seahawks’ offensive line starters are on rookie contracts. The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar broke down the cap hits below:
For Seahawks fans, it’s encouraging to see an offensive line that’s young, affordable, and (hopefully) stable enough to grow together as the season progresses. As Dugar points out, Cross and Lucas will likely garner large contracts once their rookie deals expire after this season. However, the team may be able to keep the key pieces intact beyond 2025, especially considering Sam Darnold’s $37.5 million cap hit is reasonable for a quarterback.
General manager John Schneider was asked what he feels best about heading into this season compared to last. His immediate answer was the offensive line. “Oh man, I think it has to be the offensive line,” Schneider said. “But it has to be more the unit and the cohesiveness of the group than guys individually.”
“They just spend a ton of time together,” MacDonald said of the offensive line in general. “They’re always watching a ton of tape, hanging out outside the building. It’s a great group, man, just a determined bunch that wants to play great football for their teammates and for our team.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Seattle Seahawks Announce Two Key Offensive Starters Ahead of Week One appeared first on Heavy Sports.