Two factors can help Seahawks’ O-line continue to rise

The start of most Seattle Seahawks seasons in recent memory have featured some hand-wringing over the offensive line.

That’s no longer the case in 2026.

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Seattle saw some notable improvements in the trenches a year ago after adding first-round pick Grey Zabel to the mix at left guard and getting a fully healthy season out of right tackle Abraham Lucas. And while right guard Anthony Bradford was a source of frustration at times, the unit was still good enough to be considered the 15th-best group in the league by Pro Football Focus, a massive jump from its 31st ranking after the 2024 campaign.

Can the O-line take another step forward in 2026? Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL offensive lineman Ray Roberts was posed that question when he joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk last week.

Roberts sees a couple reasons why it can – one being the return of offensive line coach John Benton for a second season.

“You have the same offensive line coach and hopefully the calls and techniques and the plays and things are going to be pretty much the same and similar. I think that part is important,” Roberts said. “Because I do think that with all of the change over the years, that has impacted the ability for them to develop offensive linemen, because you get a different coach, a different system, a different voice, different ways to explain the same technique, all these different kinds of things. That impacts your ability to develop as a player.”

Prior to Benton’s arrival, the Seahawks had three different offensive line coaches over four seasons from 2021-24.

Roberts said Benton reminds him a bit of Howard Mudd, who was the Seahawks’ offensive line coach for three of Roberts’ four seasons in Seattle in the 1990s.

“The thing I loved about Howard is that Howard kind of had a way of coaching that empowered the player. So based on your ability, he would give you, like, a couple different ways to execute the block,” Roberts said. “He would do it based on what he thought that you’re capable of. So what the right tackle could do on the outside zone might be different than what the left tackle could do on outside zone based on their athletic ability and technique and stuff.

“So as I’m watching them do drills with different players, (Benton) would go like, well, you might want to think about doing it this way (when) talking to a particular player.”

In addition to Benton remaining with the team, Roberts highlighted the returns of “tone-setters” Zabel and Lucas as a key factor.

“The thing that’s important to me is that they have Grey Zabel coming back healthy and they have big Abe coming back healthy, because those two dudes are tone-setters,” Roberts said. “They are guys that are ready, they’re ready for that smoke all the time. It doesn’t matter. If there’s going to be a fight, they’re going to be in it. If there’s going to be a battle, they’re going to be in it. And to me, you have to have that type of stuff on the offensive line. And it’s one of those things the data points can’t measure.”

Continuity goes a long way

Seattle is set to return all five members of its starting offensive line from last season in Zabel, Lucas, Bradford, left tackle Charles Cross and center Jalen Sundell. The Seahawks are also bringing back the six other offensive linemen who took snaps during their Super Bowl-winning season.

That level of continuity stands out to ESPN’s Mike Golic Jr., a former Notre Dame offensive lineman.

“Sometimes returning production isn’t all it’s cracked up to be when you don’t have the horses to run. But with Seattle, with a group that I think performed really well last year, provided they’re all healthy, I think that continuity for them, for an offensive line coach, goes a long way in just how you solve problems on game day,” Golic told Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

Hear the full conversation with Ray Roberts here and Mike Golic Jr. here. Brock and Salk airs weekdays from 6-10 a.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports. Bump and Stacy airs weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 

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