The Seattle Seahawks have been one of the NFL’s most successful teams over the last decade, but they have, more often than not, fielded offensive lines that have ranked at or near the bottom of the league. Having former offensive line coach Tom Cable in charge of personnel for that group from 2011-2017 certainly didn’t help, and outside of the occasional expenditure, the front five hasn’t seemed to be a top priority for head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider.
Now, as the Seahawks are in the throes of a complete rebuild, Carroll and Schneider are all about getting the best possible guys — at least, in the draft. They selected Mississippi State left tackle Charles Cross with the ninth overall pick in 2022, and Cross projects to be an immediate outstanding starter. No worries there.
The right tackle spot may very well be filled by third-round pick Abe Lucas from Washington State. Lucas was debited in the eyes of some as a player with deficiencies in the run game, and limitations as a pass-blocker based on the Cougars’ offense. But I did not see those things. Lucas was my fifth-ranked offensive tackle in this class, and here’s some of what I had to say about him.
The extent to which you grade Lucas as a first-year starter will depend a lot on the type of offense you prefer. If you’re all about headbanging your way to sustained running plays, he won’t be your first choice, despite his thrash-metal preferences. But players of Lucas’ ilk are becoming more and more important in the NFL as the league transitions to more RPOs, quick-game concepts, and offenses are facing defenses that make the front-side protector as important as the blind-side guy. In any of those offenses, Lucas will fit like a proverbial glove.
So, given Carroll’s preferences for a balanced offense, it may have come as a surprise that Lucas, who lined up for 749 pass-blocking snaps in 2021, would be Seattle’s preference.
But the nasty streak I noticed was an integral part of Lucas’ NFL debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers last Saturday. In Seattle’s 32-25 loss, Lucas allowed no sacks, no quarterback hits, and one quarterback hurry on 52 snaps, and 33 in pass sets. As a run-blocker, though? Lucas was absolutely dominant, opening up gaps for Seattle runners, and punishing Steelers defenders at every turn.
“What was really exciting was to see Abe on the backside, Abe had some dominant blocks on the backside,” Carroll said Tuesday. “I think he had three takedowns and blasted the linebacker coming up on the second level, which was really nice. It was really good stuff, but it was not different than what we’ve seen.”
Lucas made my Secret Superstars list for Week 1 of the 2022 NFL preseason, and the tape was impressive enough for its own detailed study.
As Carroll said, Lucas’ takedowns were indeed among his most impressive plays, so let’s start there.
Exerting physical dominance all over the field.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s kind of the goal always, going back to just doing your job,” Lucas said this week of his run-blocking. “But it certainly was nice to be able to say that I had success on more than just one of those plays, and then to just keep getting better at it.”
Carroll had Lucas for three takedowns; here are two of them. With 30 seconds left in the first quarter, Travis Homer took the ball for a 16-yard run. Watch Lucas (No. 72) and the way he just relishes the opportunity to drive linebacker Delontae Scott (No. 50) right into the ground.
And then, with 3:40 left in the second quarter, fellow rookie Ken Walker took the ball for what became a four-yard run. Lucas pinched inside to help, and Steelers linebacker Buddy Johnson (No. 45) got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Buddy, keep your head on a swivel.
Lucas had success on run downs in more traditional ways, but when you see a guy just burying dudes like this, it’s fun, and you should create a Twitter thread about it if you are so inclined.
Seahawks RT Abe Lucas burying dudes, Pt. 2 pic.twitter.com/OWWPl0xkSj
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) August 17, 2022
Mitchell Schwartz, who played right tackle for the Browns and the Chiefs at a very high level, and obviously knows a bit about the position, was equally impressed.
There are so many great things about this rep!
Recognizing blitz pre-snap. Still taking proper angle and checking the DT first. Not getting skinny to climb LB, but turning back and taking the DE. Making that a drive block, not a gather and hold off. And of course the finish. https://t.co/AJxewitOhv
— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) August 17, 2022
Picture-perfect pass-blocking.
Lucas’ experience as a pass-blocker showed up right away. This was a 25-yard swing pass from Geno Smith to Homer with 1:33 left in the first quarter. Lucas helped Smith’s exploits from the pocket with an outstanding sustained block on defensive lineman Chris Wormley (No. 95). If Lucas did this at the scouting combine, we’d call it an ideal example of the side-to-side mirror drill. Lucas simply wasn’t going to let Wormley get to his quarterback.
Yesterday, I did a tape piece on Saints first-round rookie tackle Trevor Penning, and Penning’s need to attack and latch onto defenders with his hands to control the rep. This is the inverse positive example.
Lucas did a nice job in pass pro against all kinds of moves. Here, on a quick pass from Smith to receiver Bo Melton with 1:48 left in the first half, Lucas took linebacker Hamilcar Rashed Jr.’s long-arm strategy from a wide alignment, and contended through the rep.
The next play gives you a pretty nice side view of how well Lucas gets his hands out an active to make it tough for enemy defenders — this time, it’s Mr. Rashed Jr. again.
Recovering when things get weird.
Okay, Lucas’ pass-blocking wasn’t picture-perfect on every snap — here, on the next play, Rashed Jr. beat Lucas with an inside/over move, and Lucas had to recover in a hurry. He did the best he could to avoid the pressure he gave up, and competed through the snap. Not ideal, but you like the effort.
The Seahawks may have had an unusually great offensive line draft.
This is a legitimate question from Pro Football Focus’ Mike Renner.
When's the last time a team found *both* starting OTs in one draft?
Early returns on Seahawks class look special https://t.co/11zgrbaivV
— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) August 17, 2022
It’s certainly not common. You have to go back a ways to find a similar story.
Packers did it with Clifton/Tauscher in 2000. That's the best I can remember.
— Tex Western ⚛︎🏈🥌 (@TexWestern) August 17, 2022
The 2000 Packers selected Chad Clifton in the second round out of Tennessee, and Clifton was an outstanding left tackle for the Pack through the 2011 season. They also got Mark Tauscher in the seventh round out of Wisconsin, and Tauscher played for the team through the 2010 season.
It’s far too early to deduce whether the Seahawks have a similar bounty in Cross and Lucas, but so far, things look very solid for a team that has had more whiffs along the line than almost any other team in the last decade.
Improbably, Abe Lucas might be leading the way.
