Anthony Bradford ‘Blocks Out Noise,’ Opponents as Seahawks’ Bullying Guard Finds His Rhythm

RENTON, Wash. - In the social media era where anyone can make their opinions known and accessible to everyone with the instantaneous click of a mouse or tap of the touch screen, NFL players face the near-impossible task of avoiding their critics and the vitriol spewed on X, Instagram, Tik Tok, and other platforms.

For fourth-year guard Anthony Bradford, his first three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks have tested that fortitude trying to weather a constant barrage of criticism sent his way by fans and to a lesser extent, analysts. Selected in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, he stepped into the starting lineup early in his rookie season, enduring plenty of ups and downs as he acclimated to trying to block the best defenders in the world.

Along the way, Bradford has seen his fair share of posts and videos, including short clips that went viral highlighting a few missed blocks and using those miscues to create a narrative about his overall play for barn-storming 12s to grab their virtual pitchforks and torches and rally around. But as he has matured under the guidance of coach Mike Macdonald and offensive line coach John Benton, he has been able to drown out that static and maintain a clear, level head, leading to vastly improved performance last season as he helped Seattle march to a Super Bowl LX victory.

While the laid back Bradford doesn’t see it as vengeance or redemption per se, he admitted it felt pretty damn satisfying to hoist the Lombardi Trophy and eventually receive a Super Bowl ring to silence the naysayers.

“It means a lot. Last year, I went through a lot. The ups and the downs, as expected to go through an NFL season,” Bradford told the Emerald City Spectrum prior to Seattle’s seventh training camp practice. “But it was a lot of outside noise and I'm just super proud of myself that I was able to block that out and achieve the ultimate goal as a team.”

Suiting up in the most prominent pro sports league in the world, Bradford understands scrutiny comes with the territory with the shield on his uniform, and some of the criticism levied his way in his first few seasons had been earned. As a rookie, while starting 10 games at right guard, he allowed 28 pressures and a sack, finishing 47th out of 56 qualified players with a 96.3 Pass Block Efficiency Rate.

Beating out then-rookie Christian Haynes to retain the starting job in 2024, Bradford struggled mightily with penalties and continued to yield far too much pressure on quarterback Geno Smith. Even after missing Seattle’s final six games due to injury, he tied for sixth among guards with 10 penalties called against him and allowed the third-most sacks (seven) while ranking 62nd out of 64 players in Pass Block Efficiency Rate, leading to many fans calling for the team to move on from him and seek an upgrade at the right guard spot.

But to Bradford’s credit, aided by the arrival of Benton as a replacement for fired offensive line coach Scott Huff, he used those struggles as fuel going into his second full offseason. Thrust into battle against Haynes once again when camp opened last July, the competition never truly even started, as he re-latched onto the starting role on Day 1 and turned in his best camp as a pro, crediting Benton for his role coaxing the turnaround.

“He's just a great coach, man,” Bradford gushed. “I love learning from him. I love him coaching me up. Everything about JB. So I give JB a lot of praise on my part coming up from last year.”

Despite a strong summer and encouraging early returns working with Benton, the regular season didn’t start out as well as hoped for Bradford. Through the first seven games, he allowed 17 pressures and two sacks in pass protection, including a rough Monday night outing against the Texans in Week 7 where he yielded five pressures and a sack, once again spearheading calls from Seahawks fans for Haynes or rookie Bryce Cabeldue to get a shot in his stead.

After a Week 8 bye week, however, the light switch seemed to turn on for Bradford, who gained confidence by week as he continued to take to Benton’s tutelage. Starting with a Week 9 beatdown of the Commanders, he allowed only one sack over the team’s next 11 games, including a Divisional Round blowout of the 49ers at Lumen Field. During that stretch, he surrendered one or fewer pressures eight times and posted perfect Pass Block Efficiency ratings four times, demonstrating remarkable improvement from the first month and change as the Seahawks’ offensive line allowed Sam Darnold to be sacked just 27 times as a unit for the entire regular season.

Take that, YouTube, Instagram, and Tik Tok accounts highlighting one or two of those minimal pressures…

It shouldn’t come as a coincidence that Bradford’s run blocking also took off after the bye week, coinciding with a second half surge for former starter Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. With Seattle re-emerging as a top-five rushing unit down the stretch and continuing that momentum into the playoffs, No. 75 could be seen mauling defenders at the line of scrimmage and driving linebackers into the ground on a regular basis, bringing a different play style and level of physicality to the front line that truly set the tone.

Looking back, Bradford boiled down those improvements to simply “finding a rhythm” and gaining confidence, once again crediting Benton for helping improve his mindset while also holding the player accountable for his own performance in practice and in the meeting room.

“Find what really works for me day in and day out when I come in and work,” Bradford said. “It’s really just mindset, to be honest. Just building that confidence within myself throughout the week and practice. Just clearing my mind throughout the week so I can play at my best on Sundays.”

Not interested in resting on his laurels or falling into complacency, the 25-year-old Bradford exited Seattle’s Super Bowl parade on a mission to further upgrade his game. During the spring, he spent a couple of days working with renowned line coach Duke Manyweather in Texas, applying what he learned to his own individual work during the offseason. He also instituted a stricter nutritional plan and changed up his conditioning routine, aiming to cut a few pounds and be a bit quicker when the team returned for on-field workouts in May.

While he’s still a mountain of a man at 330 pounds, Bradford’s efforts have paid off between the lines so far, as he has looked significantly lighter on his feet, particularly in pass protection. The best example of this came during 1-on-1 drills matched up against second-year defensive tackle Rylie Mills, who beat the blocker off the snap with a swift spin move and appeared to have a straight path to the coach playing quarterback back in the pocket.

However, despite being beaten initially, Bradford executed an impressive recovery, sliding his feet quickly to the right to get his hands back on Mills, locking him up before the defender could further penetrate the pocket to win the rep. It was the type of recovery that has been few and far between on the guard’s film in the past, a positive development for his growth as he heads into the final year of his rookie contract.

If Bradford takes another major step forward as the player and team believe he will in 2026, the Seahawks may have a difficult time retaining him beyond this season, as he could garner a deal netting $20-plus million annually on the open market as a free agent next March. The decision to trade back into the fifth round and select Iowa guard Beau Stephens in April’s draft indicates that the front office has already started to prepare for the possibility he won’t be back on a second contract.

However, for those who remain skeptical Seattle would hand Bradford a lucrative long-term extension before hitting free agency, especially due to Devon Witherspoon and Leonard Williams needing new contracts as well, the young guard has ample support throughout the organization. Benton holds him in high regard, while Macdonald has been a strong supporter of him since he first arrived as Pete Carroll’s successor in 2024 and he has no shortage of fans in the building from a front office perspective.

The price tag may prevent the Seahawks from being able to retain him, but as edge rusher Derick Hall proved in June, it’s not out of the question for a player to stay on a bit of a hometown discount either. Based on what Bradford said on Friday about his desire to stay in the Pacific Northwest, nobody should rule out the possibility he could follow the same path by signing a multi-year contract that still provides a major pay raise while not pushing for the ceiling of his potential value on the market.

“I'm on the stage right now. Obviously, it's my contract year, but staying in Seattle would mean the world to me. I love it here. I love being here. I love playing for these coaches. I love playing with my teammates and stuff like that. There's just no other place I'd really rather be.”

Whether or not the Seahawks will bring back Bradford remains to be seen, and assuming he doesn’t sign a new contract before the start of the season, any potential negotiations will likely be held off until January, as general manager John Schneider has rarely re-signed players during the actual season. This could be an unfortunate situation where the player’s growth and development winds up pricing him out of town at a position where talent is scarce around the league.

But while staying in Seattle remains a “top priority” for Bradford, his contract status isn’t anywhere near the top of his to-do list right now. Enjoying the view from the top as a Super Bowl champion, he would love to stay there and knows that if he can take another substantial jump in his play, the Seahawks will have a better shot at winning another Lombardi and he will have a better shot at landing a massive contract, whether staying put or with another team.

Keeping that in mind, it’s all business and not an ounce of attention given to the lingering noise for the still improving Bradford, who plans to let his play speak for itself and let everything else fall in place as it is supposed to.

“It's in the back of my head because the main focus is the team and getting better and how can we stack what we did last year. and make it even better. So whatever the contract, that stuff gonna come when it come. But right now we're here right now in camp. That's where we at.”