Loaded with skill talent, the Seahawks have the weapons to create major problems in the NFC West. But that won't matter if Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas don't bounce back.
RENTON, Wash. - If there's one reason why there should be confidence about the Seattle Seahawks outlook heading towards the 2024 season, new head coach Mike Macdonald understands where the team's greatest strength lies.
Prior to exiting for the summer after the conclusion of Seattle's final mandatory minicamp practice earlier this month, a reporter asked Macdonald about the emergence of second-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who turned in a fantastic offseason program by all accounts. While he tried to downplay the results of non-padded "passing camps" as he called them, he cited the former Ohio State standout as someone to potentially build the offense around, quickly rattling off three other offensive skill players with similar upside.
"I preface everything with we don't know yet with the tempos,"Macdonald responded. "Again, we're not contesting for footballs. Pads aren't on, game plans, the whole thing. He's a guy that we can focus our offense around, with our guys. Tyler Lockett is still a great player. DK Metcalf, phenomenal player. Noah Fant. I mean, he's definitely going to be a massive piece of what we're trying to do offensively. "
As a defensive-minded coach, Macdonald's primary focus will obviously be improving a Seahawks defense that ranked 25th in scoring defense and 31st in rushing defense a year ago. But as a first-time head coach, he inherited a roster loaded with as much talent at running back, receiver, and tight end as any team in the NFL and a seasoned veteran quarterback Geno Smith to distribute the football to this abundance of dynamic playmakers in new coordinator Ryan Grubb's explosive scheme.
Of course, as Macdonald knows as well as anyone being a former defensive coordinator with a reputation for orchestrating disruptive pass rushes, it won't matter how many weapons Smith has at his disposal if he doesn't have time to throw and lacks the benefit of a complementary run game as he did for much of the 2023 season.
Only two years ago, before Smith-Njigba joined the fold as a first round pick, Seattle boasted a top-10 offense with two 1,000-yard receivers in Metcalf and Lockett, a 1,000-yard back in Walker, and a trio of tight ends that combined for double digit touchdowns. Unfortunately, the team regressed statistically across the board a year ago, including plunging to 17th in scoring offense, with much of that decline revolving around poor performance and injuries along the offensive line.
In order to prevent a disappointing repeat with Grubb now at the controls for the Seahawks, no players will be under more pressure to bounce back than tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas, whose health and development hold the key to the team fulfilling their immense potential on offense and carrying the team back to the postseason
Immediately thrust into the starting lineup, Cross and Lucas exceeded expectations and made history for Seattle, becoming only the third duo of rookie tackles to start a season opener for the same team since the 1970 merger. Though both players endured their share of rookie struggles, they gradually improved as the season progressed, setting the stage for them to emerge as one of the top tackle pairings in the league in quick order.
However, things change fast in the NFL. Only two quarters into the regular season opener against the Rams last September, Lucas exited with a troublesome knee and Cross joined him on the sidelines moments later with a sprained toe, forcing backups Jake Curhan and Stone Forsythe into action as Smith was left under siege against a vicious pass rush in a 30-13 defeat.
With both players set to miss extended time, Seattle promptly signed undrafted rookies McClendon Curtis and Raiqwon O'Neal off Las Vegas and Tampa Bay's practice squads, respectively. Soon after, ageless veteran Jason Peters signed with the practice squad to get back into shape as another insurance option with Lucas placed on injured reserve and Cross still weeks from returning
Dec 10, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Abraham Lucas (72) blocks San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (97) in the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports / Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Minus the two starting tackles, Seattle's offense managed to get by. In fact, from Weeks 1 to 4, while Smith ranked eighth out of 29 quarterbacks being pressured on 38.8 percent of his drop backs, he threw four touchdowns with no interceptions and the team rebounded with three straight wins to jump to the top of the NFC West standings, including scoring 37 points against the Lions in Detroit.
But as the year unfolded, even with Cross returning to the lineup in Week 6, injuries and uneven play at the tackle spots ended up catching up with the Seahawks. Pressured more than 40 percent of his drop backs, Smith wasn't able to take advantage of his talent at receiver consistently due to constantly collapsing pockets and Walker and company only eclipsed 100 rushing yards five times in the last 13 games for a punch-less run game.
Losing five of the final eight games, Seattle ultimately missed the postseason with the offense failing to meet expectations and carry a team with a bottom-third defense in nearly every category, leading to the front office cleaning house by jettisoning long-time coach Pete Carroll in favor of Macdonald and a brand new coaching staff.
Nothing hurt the Seahawks more than Lucas' prolonged absence, as he wound up missing 11 games in two injured reserve stints with Curhan, Forsythe, and Peters struggling to fill the void. When he did return to play in late November, he looked like a shell of his former self in five games before eventually undergoing surgery in January.
Without Lucas for more than half of the season, per Pro Football Focus, Smith ranked first among qualified quarterbacks with a startling 37.3 percent of pressures on him charged to Seattle's right tackles. Even with Cross starting 14 games, the situation wasn't much better at left tackle, as he ranked sixth in the NFL with 26.5 percent of pressures on him being charged to the blind side protectors.
In the run game, the Seahawks also suffered due to injuries and underperformance at the tackle spots. Per PFF charting, the team averaged an ugly 3.1 yards per carry when running behind left tackle and that included Walker and the running backs averaging almost 3.8 yards per carry after contact, indicating yardage frequently came after contact in the backfield. Even with a healthier 4.6 yards per carry running behind right tackle, the backs were largely responsible with a 3.46 yards per carry after contact average
Oct 2, 2022; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Charles Cross (67) blocks Detroit Lions linebacker Julian Okwara (99) during first half action at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirthmon F. Dozier-USA TODAY Sports / Kirthmon F. Dozier-USA TODAY Sports
To this point, whether fair or not, Cross has yet to quite live up to his billing as a top-10 pick for Seattle. Though his toe injury may have dogged him for most of the season and he opted to gut through it, he ranked 43rd out of 58 qualified tackles surrendering 42 pressures, 47th in Pass Block Efficiency Rate (95.4 percent), and ranked 40th in run blocking grade (58.3), far from the type of performance expected from a first round selection.
As for Lucas, his play dropped off a cliff with him playing well below 100 percent in six starts, seeing his Pass Blocking Efficiency Rate drop almost two full percent while allowing 17 pressures on just 182 pass blocking reps. With his injury limiting his power and explosiveness, he can be forgiven for his struggles in the run game and in pass protection after a promising rookie season, but questions persist about his future after dealing with constant knee trouble last year.
With training camp soon approaching, there's reason for optimism once again for Cross and Lucas. The former participated in the entire offseason program, showing no ill effects from the toe injury that may have impacted his play last year, and should benefit from the arrival of veteran left guard Laken Tomlinson alongside him. As for the latter, after missing all of the offseason program rehabbing his knee injury, he looks to be trending towards returning early in camp as hoped and the Seahawks won't have to rush him with veteran George Fant holding the fort for now.
Assuming both players will be back in action together at some point in late July or early August, new line coach Scott Huff will be tasked with the responsibility of maximizing Cross and Lucas' talent at the bookend spots. After coaching up several future NFL tackles at the college level, his fundamentals-based approach could be the missing ingredient to help them reach their ceiling, which would be a major boon for the offense and renew positivity for the future up front.
As last year illustrated, however, if Cross or Lucas misses time with injuries and/or don't take a significant step forward under Huff's tutelage, even with Fant as an insurance upgrade, the Seahawks could be facing tough decisions moving past 2024. And, most certainly, Macdonald's chances of springing his new team back into the playoffs in his first year at the helm would take a substantial hit with Smith and the skill players unable to play to the best of their ability without adequate line play.
