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# ‘There’s Buy-In There’: Improved O-Line Holds Keys to Seahawks’ Reaching Ceiling in 2025
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/improved-seattle-seahawks-offensive-line-holds-key-reaching-ceiling-2025/
- Published: 2025-09-02T06:05:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:58:27.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Analysis, Seahawks, Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell, Charles Cross, Abraham Lucas, Anthony Bradford

[Embed from Getty Images](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/2229135625?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)

RENTON, Wash. - For the better part of the past decade, the Seattle Seahawks have struggled to field even an average offensive line, consistently hampered by lack of continuity, insufficient development of young players, injuries, and other factors.

Whether through traditional stats or advanced analytical metrics, as has been the case far too many times in recent memory exemplifying the franchise’s clear fatal flaw, the Seahawks sat near the bottom of the league last season in every meaningful category in regard to offensive line performance.

Coinciding with finishing a dreadful 28th in the NFL in rushing and allowing the third-most sacks (54), the Seahawks’ maligned offensive line received less-than-stellar marks from outlets such as ESPN and Pro Football Focus. ESPN ranked Seattle 21st in Pass Block Win Rate (58 percent) and 28th in Run Block Win Rate (69 percent), while PFF graded the team 25th in pass block grade (60.1) and 24th in run block grade (58.6).

But as the start of the 2025 regular season approaches, there’s a different, unfamiliar buzz in the air in the Pacific Northwest. Though the real games have yet to begin, after racking up rushing yards in bunches and allowing only two sacks in three preseason games, there’s a burgeoning confidence in the trenches that hasn’t been felt in Seattle for quite some time.

With new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and seasoned line coach John Benton working their magic thus far and a young nucleus headlined by first-round pick Grey Zabel developing a rapport quickly, even general manager John Schneider appears to be drinking the Kool Aid with the season opener against the 49ers coming up on September 7.

“There's buy-in there, right?” Schneider told reporters after practice on August 27\. “There's a legitimate scheme that they're running off the ball, gaining confidence, and they're confident in what they do.”

Given the struggles Seattle endured protecting the quarterback and creating run lanes for Ken Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, and company in 2024, it would have been easy for Schneider to punt and completely overhaul the offensive line through free agency and the draft, choosing to move on from several of the seven linemen who had been drafted in the previous three years in the process. In fact, many fans would have preferred that route, understanding the importance of improving that group as a means to return to contention in the NFC.

But while Schneider did make an aggressive run at veteran guard Will Fries, who ultimately spurned the Seahawks to sign with the Vikings, as he opined way back in February at the annual NFL combine in Indianapolis, he felt that coaching and development were the biggest problems holding the team back along the offensive line. Rather than blowing up the unit and starting over personnel-wise, he and coach Mike Macdonald cooperatively tabbed Kubiak and Benton as replacements for Ryan Grubb and Scott Huff, valuing their experience running and teaching the Shanahan-style offense to help bring out the best in a young core.

Shortly after hiring Kubiak and Benton along with respected assistants Rick Dennison and Justin Outten, the Seahawks invested the 18th overall pick in Zabel, making him the highest selected guard by the franchise since future Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson back in 2001\. Though he had to rightfully earn his job, he jumped right in with the first-team offense between left tackle Charles Cross and centers Jalen Sundell and Olu Oluwatimi, wasting little time establishing himself as a Day 1 starter.

Like any rookie, Zabel has dealt with his share of welcome to the NFL moments since training camp opened in late July, partaking in a trial by fire scenario battling against star defensive tackle Leonard Williams at practice everyday. But he has learned valuable lessons through those experiences, even seeking advice on the practice field from Williams after getting whipped in one-on-one drills, and playing next to his former college teammate and roommate in Sundell - who beat out Oluwatimi for the starting center gig - has only helped hasten his transition to the league as they grow together.

“He’s been awesome,” Schneider said of Zabel. “He's a huge piece, and the fact that he played with Jalen \[Sundell\], too. The fact that those guys played together, you got two guys that there's a familiarity there, that unit bonding and that cohesiveness. He's a tough guy, he's got a great personality. He doesn't act like an ass. Jalen didn't either. It's a cool program to have there. They came in, they both acted like pros, and he's done that right away. He hasn't acted like anything’s too big for him but yet he's still doing all the rookie hazing stuff and carrying helmets.”

Schneider’s bullishness about Seattle’s offensive line under the tutelage of Benton isn’t simply about Zabel’s arrival or Sundell’s emergence, however. While the team will be counting on those two uber-athletic blockers as centerpieces in a zone-centric run game that demands quickness and the ability to fly off the line of scrimmage, they are far from the only reasons for optimism up front.

For one, the Seahawks happily welcomed back a fully healthy Abraham Lucas after the former third round pick out of Washington State missed 21 combined regular season games over the past two seasons due to a knee injury. Participating in all of training camp and playing well in two preseason games without a hitch, he appears to have put those knee problems behind him, setting the stage for a strong comeback season as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.

Across from Lucas, Cross has steadily improved in his first three seasons but has yet to take the massive step towards becoming a top-10 tackle as envisioned when Seattle selected him ninth overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. After picking up his fifth-year option in May, Schneider and the front office clearly believe he can still become that player and with elite athleticism for his position, Kubiak’s scheme coupled with Benton’s tough love coaching approach could be the ingredients needed for him to finally fulfill his immense potential as a franchise blindside protector.

At right guard, Anthony Bradford showed up at offseason workouts leaner, ready to put two uneven, penalty-filled seasons behind him and prove he had enough athletic juice to handle Kubiak’s offense. Seizing the job early in camp away from Christian Haynes, he played exceptionally well in two preseason games with a 78.9 run blocking grade from PFF and only one pressure allowed on 17 pass blocking snaps, earning the trust of Kubiak, Benton, and the entire coaching staff, which Schneider sees as the biggest difference across the board.

“It comes back to the developers, and the teachers,” Schneider explained. “There's an attitude that they can have in this scheme where they can come off the ball and feel confident about themselves. They spend a lot of time together. I think you've seen a lot of growth within the group. There's camaraderie that's starting to come together too, that's the whole team, not just the offensive line. That group is the kind of group you'd like to see spending a lot of time together because they have to work as one. We like it.”

If there’s an argument for putting on the brakes, even if the Seahawks ran roughshod on the Raiders and Chiefs in the preseason with most of their starters seeing snaps, neither of those teams played all of their starters on defense. The regular season presents an entirely different animal with all hands on deck and opposing coaches deploying intricate game plans rather than vanilla looks that define August football, so it remains to be seen how Zabel, Sundell, and the rest of the offensive line will hold up under such circumstances and whether or not their exhibition performance will translate to games that count.

Depth also remains a concern for Seattle, at least in the interior. Though the addition of veteran Josh Jones in free agency bolstered the swing tackle spot behind Cross and Lucas, a pectoral injury landed Haynes on injured reserve to start the season, leaving only rookies Bryce Cabeldue and Mason Richman as backup options on the 53-man roster at guard.

Until Haynes returns at some point - he will have to miss at least the first four games, per NFL rules - Macdonald indicated Sundell would slide to either guard spot if an injury occurred and Oluwatimi would jump in at the pivot position. If injuries happened beyond that, any NFL team would be put in a more difficult position under that scenario and Benton would have to get more creative figuring out a succession plan, including possibly promoting Sataoa Laumea from the practice squad.

But while skeptics may point to everything from prior track record to lack of regular season experience to questionable depth as reasons for doubt, and all of those arguments carry some water until proven otherwise, this year’s incarnation of the Seahawks’ offensive line does indeed feel different. Between the lines, there’s a different level of athleticism and physicality. Whether executing line calls or chugging Gatorade shots after practice, there’s a different sense of camaraderie and confidence from the group as a whole than has been felt for a long time at the VMAC.

In time, such hope may no longer spring eternal under the weight of rising expectations, as the 49ers could quickly make such feelings dissipate when the real bullets start flying at Lumen Field on Sunday. At the same time, if Zabel, Sundell, and the rest of the group handle the challenge as they have handled everything else up to this point, acing their first test would be a game changer, as the long-time Achilles’ heel becoming at least a competent unit would be the missing ingredient needed to transform the Seahawks from fringe playoff team into a viable contender overnight.