Seahawks may not need to look far to fill hole on offensive line

Has one of the answers to the Seattle Seahawks’ ongoing struggles on the offensive line been playing in Seattle this whole time?

NFL.com draft expert Eric Edholm told Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Monday that could be the case.

Why Bump has hopes for unexpected Seattle Seahawks’ position

In his latest mock draft, Edholm has the Seahawks looking to Montlake to fill one of their holes up front, selecting standout UW Huskies offensive lineman Troy Fautanu in the first round at No. 16 overall.

“He was one of my favorite players to scout so far,” Edholm said. “… I just feel like he’s so clean in his approach.”

The 6-foot-4, 317-pound Fautanu starred at left tackle while helping the Huskies reach the national championship game this past season. He was named to the All-Pac-12 first team, the Associated Press All-America third team and awarded the Morris Trophy, which is given to the top offensive and defensive linemen in the Pac-12. He also anchored a UW offensive line that earned the Joe Moore Award, which is annually given to the best offensive line in college football.

The general thought is that Fautanu will move to guard at the NFL level. Edholm would also like to see the Henderson, Nevada, native get a chance on the outside.

“I think he’s the kind of player who’s going to maybe be kind of branded as a guard by some people unfairly (who) say, ‘Well, OK, the length isn’t ideal and let’s move him inside,’” Edholm said. “And he might do that and play really well. I don’t think that’s a negative, but I’d love to see him get the chance to play outside at some point. Obviously, in Seattle, (he would play) more likely inside than out right now, but (he’s) just a really darn good offensive lineman. I think you could put him at any of the five positions and he’d end up being really good.”

That versatility could be key for the Seahawks. Seattle is tasked with replacing starters at center and guard and has its starting right tackle, Abraham Lucas, coming off an offseason knee surgery.

Edholm said Fautanu “checks off a lot of boxes” but doesn’t quite have the eye-popping measurables that typically grab attention at the NFL scouting combine. However, the potential first-round pick possess toughness and intelligence that bodes well for his prospects at the next level.

“He just may not be that super-mauler guy with 38-inch arms and unbelievable mass,” Edholm said. “To me, I’d rather have the technician who just reaches all the benchmarks as opposed to somebody who’s way beyond them but doesn’t have the football part of it as mastered as he seems to.”

Listen to Bump and Stacy every day from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM or on the Seattle Sports app. Listen to the full conversation with Edholm at this link.

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