There’s been plenty written about the shortcomings of the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive front, particularly when it comes to this past season. Only four teams in the league averaged fewer yards per game on the ground (as was the case in 2023. Mike Macdonald’s team allowed 54 sacks, tied for the third-most in the NFL.
On Monday, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic wrote about the team’s new offensive brain trust, and how their experience with each other could pay dividends in a big way “Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has more than 10 years of experience coaching in the NFL. Offensive line coach John Benton and run game coordinator Rick Dennison have decades of experience. Assistant offensive line coach and run game specialist Justin Outten and quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko have been in the NFL since at least 2016. All four of these assistants have experience with Kubiak.”
Dugar also spoke about Kubiak’s “wide zone scheme,” and stated that Macdonald was fond of it. He also made a very significant point when it comes to the team’s general manager “(John) Schneider knows the Seahawks need to be better at identifying and developing offensive line talent. Free agency will be part of the process, but I get the sense that instead of spending big there, Seattle hopes to improve its draft-and-develop strategy in part because of the people added to its staff.”
Macdonald added this in regards to the new faces on the offensive staff. “These guys have a great track record of evaluating guys and developing them. We have some people in-house, too, that we’re really (excited about). The guys we have on our roster are good at this scheme. I’m excited to develop these guys and see where they go.”
Led by 2022 first-round tackle Charles Cross, the Seahawks have selected seven offensive linemen in their last three drafts, three of those last April. It should also be noted that on Tuesday, the Seahawks parted ways with four players that opened up some significant salary-cap room for the team.
Any number of NFL analysts have Schneider opting for an offensive lineman with the 18th overall pick on April 24, and the club met with its share of prospects last week at Indianapolis. Regardless of the approach, it’s an area that needs to up its performance in 2025.
