Seahawks just made their stance on Jalen Sundell crystal clear

Like nearly any football ever, the Seattle Seahawks are only going to reach their best if their offensive line plays well. In the past decade, the O-line has been a problem. The team has somewhat overcome this by having great skill position players and, previously, a historically great defense.

Still, in more recent years, the team's ceiling was low because there was no chance the Seahawks were going to make a deep run in the postseason with a terrible offensive line. The good news is that things might be changing a bit in 2025.

Left tackle Charles Cross is very good, and a healthy Abraham Lucas at right tackle should be good, too. The hope is that rookie left guard Grey Zabel can immediately be solid as well. But center and right guard are still open for the taking.

Jalen Sundell might be turning into the Seattle Seahawks' starting right guard

Or are they?

What has become clear in Seahawks training camp is that Seattle likes Jalen Sundell a lot. The 2024 undrafted free agent didn't get a lot of reps as a rookie, though; notably, he did get 48 snaps against the Green Bay Packers at center in Week 15, and he did not allow a quarterback pressure. Promising for a player who had only had nine reps before that and was facing a good team.

Also of note is that Sundell played with Zabel in college at North Dakota State. Perhaps, Seattle sees the chance of building quicker cohesion with the O-line by having the two Bison players work among the starting five.

It might make sense for Sundell to take the center spot from Olu Oluwatimi, but something else might be afoot for the Seahawks, too. When pads came on at training camp, Seattle still had centers and right guards rotate out to find the right mix, but Sundell was seeing more time at right guard. During 11-on-11 drills, Sundell saw the most reps at right guard of any player.

READ MORE: Seahawks first cut of training camp just became painfully obvious

There is a very real chance that Seattle fields a Week 1 offensive line featuring LT Cross, LG Zabel, C Oluwatimi, RG Sundell, and RT Lucas. Every player in that situation would still be on the rookie deals. Lucas, however, could be a free agent next offseason. Everyone else is still under contract through 2026.

Sundell is a fundamentally sound offensive lineman who has gained a lot of strength in a year-plus, and appears to be understanding what new O-line coach John Benton needs. That shows Sundell has a high football IQ as well.

Ultimately, what Seattle Seahawks fans want is to have the best five offensive linemen on the field. Three spots are set. Right guard Anthony Bradford and Christian Haynes (who has gotten some work at center, too) are obviously losing ground to Jalen Sundell.