Could Seahawks splurge on free agency’s top center?

The Seattle Seahawks typically haven’t spent big money on offensive linemen in free agency. But with a glaring need to improve their interior O-line, could they break the trend this year?

Ranking the Seahawks’ offseason needs by position group

In a post-NFL combine report published Sunday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler mentioned the Seahawks as one of several teams “lurking” in the interior O-line free agent market.

So at the very least, there might be a chance.

And if the Seahawks were to swing big, the dream target might be Atlanta Falcons center Drew Dalman.

Dalman, one of the best centers in the league over the past two seasons, will be among the most sought-after players when free agency begins next week. NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal ranked Dalman as the 12th-best free agent in this year’s class and the best-available interior offensive lineman. ESPN’s Matt Bowen tabbed Dalman as the 23rd-best free agent and the second-best interior offensive lineman, trailing only Indianapolis Colts guard Will Fries.

Earlier this week, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard spent some time discussing Dalman on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. It was prompted by a conversation on Monday’s show with Hawkblogger.com’s Brian Nemhauser, who was at last week’s NFL combine and thinks the Seahawks could make a real push for the 26-year-old center.

Here’s a closer look at Dalman and Huard’s thoughts on him.

‘Off the charts’

Dalman, a 2021 fourth-round draft pick out of Stanford, took over as the Falcons’ starting center in 2022 and quickly developed into an elite player. Pro Football Focus graded him as the league’s third-best center in 2023 and the fourth-best center in 2024 – although he was limited to nine games this past season due to an ankle injury.

The 6-foot-3, 305-pound Dalman is particularly adept as a run blocker. He ranked third in PFF’s run block grading in 2023 and fifth in 2024.

In addition, Dalman excels in outside-zone blocking schemes. According to PFF, more than three-quarters of his run-blocking snaps were on zone runs, which was the highest rate of any starting center in the league. On zone runs, he ranked sixth out of 43 centers in PFF grading.

That would make him an excellent fit for the Seahawks under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who runs a Shanahan-style offense that’s rooted in the outside zone.

Dalman also made significant strides in pass blocking this past season. He was below average in PFF pass blocking in his first two seasons as a starter, ranking 40th out of 56 centers in 2022 and 39th out of 56 in 2023. But in 2024, he rose up to 22nd out of 64.

“Very athletic guy,” Huard said. “The next-level numbers stuff? Off the charts, especially when it comes to run blocking ability and getting to the second level.”

Dalman also comes from strong NFL bloodlines. His father, Chris Dalman, started 64 games at center and guard for the San Francisco 49ers between 1993 and 1999.

How realistic is it?

The challenge, of course, is that Dalman will be expensive and highly coveted. PFF projects him to sign a four-year, $56 million deal.

“There aren’t many long-term answers in free agency at center, which will make Dalman the primary beneficiary if he reaches the open market,” PFF wrote in its free agency rankings.

But as Huard pointed out, the Seahawks have already shown how serious they are about fixing their sputtering rushing attack, which ranked 28th in the league last season.

Most notably, they hired an offensive coordinator in Kubiak who brings a tried-and-true Shanahan-style run scheme to Seattle. But they didn’t stop there. They also hired a new offensive line coach (John Benton) and added both a run game coordinator/senior offensive advisor (Rick Dennison) and a run game specialist/assistant offensive line coach (Justin Outten). Those three assistants bring a combined 57 years of NFL coaching experience, most of which has been centered on the O-line.

“You’ve invested in this scheme significantly,” Huard said. “… So why would you not want to further that and actually have the guy on the field that makes the calls, that’s been in the scheme, that knows how to do it, knows how to walk it, knows how to talk it, knows how to live it? Why would you not want that on the field?

“If you have all that instruction and all that intellectual property, why wouldn’t you also want that mouthpiece right there in the middle of that offensive line? I think that makes a lot of sense.”

Listen to Brock and Salk’s conversation with Hawkblogger’s Brian Nemhauser at this link. Hear Brock’s thoughts on Dalman at this link and this link, or in the audio players in this story.

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