O-Line

[getnasty]

I would actually bring Ifedi back for the right price but i have a feeling he'll get us a comp pick in the end. Assuming he goes, i'd sign Fant and focus on drafting tackle early if possible. Hopefully somebody that can move to LT in two years.

Between Jones, Pocic, Haynes and Roos one of those guys will start at LG. I wouldn't say were good at guard but tackle makes me much more nervous.

 

[Fade]

You ready to pay Fant 8 mil APY?

I'd be fine with that as long as they don't pay Ifedi 10M+.

Teams are desperate for O-Line so $8M APY for Fant wouldn't really surprise me.

==========

On to the OP

Pete says he doesn't want to make many changes to his O-Line, but I am having a hard time not seeing at least 2 changes to the starting 5. I wouldn't be surprised if they have 3 new starters by kickoff in Sep.

I think Pete is thinking that he doesn't need to pursue, big UFA O-Lineman, and instead just focus on D-Line in Free Agency. Pete for whatever reason just doesn't value that position group. They played 1.5 seasons without a legit LT when Okung left in Free Agency. Unheard of in the NFL as protecting your franchise QB is #1.

I personally was very disappointed with the group when they were all healthy, as they took a step back in 2019. I thought they could creep up into avg territory and build off of their, just okay '18 season. It went the other way, and I would not be opposed to an aggressive change at LG & C, while retaining Fant to start at RT.

 

[AgentDib]

It's time to upgrade the OL with new players. It's pretty easy to see.

I imagine everybody agrees with bringing in both UFAs and rookies to compete for spots. However, the negative feelings towards the current group are heavily influenced by the injuries at the end of the year.

For much of the season they looked better than people expected and when things were bad it was often the result of inexperienced backups being pressed into action or the offense not getting the ball out on time. Even in the GB game the pass protection was above average, we just couldn't run the ball at all due to not having our LG, C, RB1, RB2, RB3, TE1, or TE2.

OK, let Fant walk but you still gave no viable replacement for him.

My point was merely that it's a brittle strategy to decide in March and April whether a player will be healthy or not. Fant is a flexible player who we could absolutely re-sign to add competition to both tackle spots (and jumbo TE), but it would be crazy to give him a ton of money and just name him the RT because we didn't trust the alternatives.

What I am advocating is continuing to build the tackle group throughout the spring. We can bring in a veteran RT to compete during wave 2 FA so that we aren't forced to reach in the draft for a tackle we don't love. Add BPA youth from the draft to the UDFAs and post June 6th veteran FAs. We have plenty of time over the off-season to make sure we have a competitive group to shake out a group from in training camp.

 

[kf3339]

Re-sign Fant, start him at Right Tackle, and promise him Left Tackle once Duane is done. I feel pretty strongly that D Brown will retire after 2020. He's had some injuries, albeit minor ones, lately. He's getting up there, but, he's still playing at a high level. So I think 2020 will be a great year for him, but I'm predicting that some team success, and minor injuries will cause him to consider his future next year.

Keep Joey Hunt, an economical, functional backup for Guard and Center.

Extend Justin Britt, bring his 2020 and future hits down some with a signing bonus. I don't want to go through another new Center when the rest of the line could be in flux.

Keep Ethan Pocic who is currently on IR

Keep Fluker. He played well, and was available most of the time.

Jamarco Jones, Left Guard. He can also fill in at Left Tackle in an emergency

Phil Haynes at Guard

Creature Man, Jordan Roos at guard

Draft/Sign a Left Tackle Prospect and Guard.

Don't forget Tight Ends in this equation.

Re-up Luke Willson! That guy is INVALUABLE as a blocker, pass catcher, and all around team mate!

Jacob Hollister, what a STEAL this guy was!

Will Dissly, no brainer. LOVE this man.

Swoopes on the Practice Squad

Draft/Sign a "young" Tight End, or an Offensive Lineman/Tight End Hybrid like George Fant or Gary Gilliam...OR Jason Peters.

Cut/Drop: Iupati, and Ed Dickson. Dickson is a great guy, great talent, but he's 32 years old and has a horrible injury history the past 3 years!

Considerations:

Jordan Simmons on IR. Has injury history, but deserves a look this year.

I agree with almost all of this post!

I would only add in that drafting 2-3 quality OL this year is an absolute must. I'm talking earlier in the draft for at least two in the first 3 rounds. Especially if we can fix our DL and pass rush thru FA which would be my preference.

 

[Appyhawk]

Me too kf3. We keep Britt and draft a good rookie price center for depth. Sign Fant with savings from losing Hunt and Ifedi. Other rookies for interior competition and depth if needed. I like the sounds of that G from Ky. Steinburg?
Also think we lose Reed from DL, so we'll need a replacement there, along with a really good corner and DE, plus I'd like to see another RB.
If we can do all that and cure Gordon and we're good to go.

 

[Largent80]

Lloyd Cushenberry was awesome at center in the senior bowl.

 

[oldhawkfan]

One! That is how many guys not currently on the roster who will be starting on the line next year. I can’t tell you which position, but I highly doubt we will see more than one guy starting on the line not currently associated with the Seahawks. Through resignings, renegotiations and the need to add defensive talent, the o line won’t see a lot of addition.

 

[olyfan63]

Jordan Simmons. Just gotta have him healthy.
He was outperforming Fluker when healthy.

 

[Largent80]

Deep OL class this draft, and it will be tapped into...There may be a couple defense additions in the draft but that will mostly be dealt with in free agency.

 

[blazen2392]

Deep OL class this draft, and it will be tapped into...There may be a couple defense additions in the draft but that will mostly be dealt with in free agency.

I would be fine if we used our first on a C and let britt walk.

 

[Largent80]

That would save at least 8 million on the cap as well. It's time to draft our Center for the future. Hunt is just an undersized backup. We need young guards as well.

 

[Largent80]

Not a single person on the o-line has been able to stay healthy, draft youth every year. We have Simmons and Jones and both got injured.

Also Fant has proven his versatility and to me is a MUST sign.

But take advantage of this deep OL pool especially with the picks we have. It's NOW time

 

[titan3131]

draft Isaiah Wilson for Backup RT. Start Fant @ Rt Unless Brown goes down.

Draft Lloyd Cushenberry C LSU

Draft Logan Sternberg G Kentucky

Restructure britt.

 

[Largent80]

draft Isaiah Wilson for Backup RT. Start Fant @ Rt Unless Brown goes down.

Draft Lloyd Cushenberry C LSU

Draft Logan Sternberg G Kentucky

Restructure britt.

Very good strategy, and those 2 picks would solidify the line for a long time.

 

[12th Dimension]

draft Isaiah Wilson for Backup RT. Start Fant @ Rt Unless Brown goes down.

Draft Lloyd Cushenberry C LSU

Draft Logan Sternberg G Kentucky

Restructure britt.

Why would Britt restructure if we drafted his replacement? Why draft Wilson early if he’s not going to start. What if they can’t beat out Fluker and Haynes? What’s it going to take to resign all these guys 4 years later to keep the OL intact? What about the other 7 positional holes we need to fill? TE, RB, IDL, DE, OLB, CB, LT, WR? Just quick math C + F + R = 34M. FA still leaves many holes Unfilled.

OL is a need but we might need a little asset allocation of our draft capital. Besides, if you don’t expect, “ who the hell is that” when the draft pick is announced, your going to be disappointed.

 

[Largent80]

You go with what the draft offers and team needs. that's it. The team has needs on the o-line that can be addressed in th e draft that will have a long lasting affect.

The DL is completely a F.A. issue....But OL can be had in this draft that will last a LONG time.

 

[ivotuk]

draft Isaiah Wilson for Backup RT. Start Fant @ Rt Unless Brown goes down.

Draft Lloyd Cushenberry C LSU

Draft Logan Sternberg G Kentucky

Restructure britt.

Why would Britt restructure if we drafted his replacement? Why draft Wilson early if he’s not going to start. What if they can’t beat out Fluker and Haynes? What’s it going to take to resign all these guys 4 years later to keep the OL intact? What about the other 7 positional holes we need to fill? TE, RB, IDL, DE, OLB, CB, LT, WR? Just quick math C + F + R = 34M. FA still leaves many holes Unfilled.

OL is a need but we might need a little asset allocation of our draft capital. Besides, if you don’t expect, “ who the hell is that” when the draft pick is announced, your going to be disappointed.

Pete and John always draft players with thoughts to the future. I believe they play more rookies than anyone else too. They bring them along, get them used to the NFL Game, then we don't fall off when someone gets injured.

It's very rare that a rookie starts a lot of games, especially early on. They need to get practice reps and let Pete see them in action.

I would be happy with that draft, if, we re-sign JaDeveon, and get a good to great FA DE. IMHO, Pass Rush is the most important need here.

 

[scutterhawk]

Anyone that has watched the Hawks for many years has to ask themselves, why does our O-Line suck?...After almost 50 years of fandom and this has been a question. Even in 2005 when we had Walter Jones and Hutch on the left side and Tobeck at C.

This is always a problem.

With RW as QB, its not so much on the OL for pass plays because he is so mobile. BUT having said that, when you have a guy like Ifedi who has 5 years in that position and knowing Russ' tendencies why does he consintently stink?

Well, maybe he doesn't because of that. RW may NEVER have a top tier OL because of his skill set and our offense.

Either way, we need road graters with nasty attitudes. It's who we are.

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^.
Honestly, can anyone here imagine what it would have been like for the Seahawks in 2005 if Holmgren had had Russell Wilson at the helm back then?, or if Mike Holmgren would have had Pete Carroll's LOB?

 

[kf3339]

You go with what the draft offers and team needs. that's it. The team has needs on the o-line that can be addressed in th e draft that will have a long lasting affect.

The DL is completely a F.A. issue....But OL can be had in this draft that will last a LONG time.

^This.

I agree completely. :2thumbs:

 

[Largent80]

I'm just wondering if money is that big of a deal for Clowney. Britt will have to take a LOT LESS to remain, and I still think if the decide to keep him, we draft a center. It would be really smart to do so now.

Guard is so up in the air, just draft one of the good ones coming out and we have Fluker for one more year. Pocic is what?...injured?, reliable< a G? a C?, what the hell do we have with this guy???

Iupati, see ya. Fant is a must sign IMO. Ifedi, see ya.