Most Intriguing Seahawks: No. 22, G Mark Glowinski
Jul 2, 2016, 11:04 AM
Mark Glowinski is the favorite to start at left guard along a new-look Seahawks offensive line. (AP)
(AP)
Each day until the start of training camp, “Brock and Salk” is talking with an NFL analyst and counting down the 25 most intriguing players on the Seahawks’ roster. “Two-a-days” continued Tuesday with Kurt Warner of the NFL Network as the guest and Mark Glowinski as the 22nd-most intriguing Seahawk. The segment on Glowinski is embedded above. My thoughts are below.
• Position: G
• Height/Weight: 6-4, 310
• Experience: Second season
• Acquired: Fourth-round pick, 2015
Overview: He’s one of six offensive linemen the Seahawks have drafted over the last two years while trying to replenish a position group that has turned over all five starters from the 2013 Super Bowl team. Of the three from the 2015 draft – Terry Poole and Kristjan Sokoli are the others – Glowinski has made the strongest impression so far. He had played all of one offensive snap as a rookie last season before stepping in at right guard for an injured J.R. Sweezy in Seattle’s regular-season finale at Arizona. Glowinski’s performance drew some strong reviews from coach Pete Carroll and offensive-line coach Tom Cable, and while one start wasn’t much of a sample size, the Seahawks believed it reinforced all the positive things they had seen from him in practice. So when Sweezy became the latest offensive linemen to leave in free agency, his loss was a bit more palatable for the Seahawks knowing they had a potential replacement who had shown promise. Glowinski moved over to left guard after Seattle chose Germain Ifedi in the first round, and he’s the leading candidate to start there as he enters his second season.
The intrigue: Glowinski is still an unknown quantity, which can also be said for Seattle’s offensive line as a whole. That group struggled for much of last season, lost its two best starters in Sweezy and left tackle Russell Okung and now has a projected starting lineup that doesn’t include anyone playing in the same spot as a year ago. Glowinski’s biggest strength might be his actual strength. His 31 bench-press reps were fourth-most at the 2015 scouting combine, and Cable identified him as the strongest of Seattle’s offensive linemen. “He can lift a building,” Cable told “Brock and Salk” earlier this month. That bodes well for his ability to move a defender off the ball, but can he pass protect? That was the biggest issue with Seattle’s offensive line last season.
2016 outlook: Anyone who assumes Seattle’s offensive-line plans are set in stone should recall last year when the Seahawks shook things up after the first preseason game. Third-round pick Rees Odhiambo would be the likeliest challenger at left guard, and there’s always the possibility of Justin Britt moving back there from center. That said, it’s Glowinski’s job to lose. If he hangs onto it, he’ll face a tough test right off the bat against two of the NFL’s best interior defensive linemen: Miami’s Ndamukong Suh and the Rams’ Aaron Donald.
