PFF preseason grades for Seattle Seahawks' offensive line tell 2 distinct stories

You can forgive Seattle Seahawks fans if they literally didn't believe their eyes watching the team's first two preseason games of the year. After a decade and a half of seeing their offensive line perform somewhere between bad and terrible, suddenly Seattle was not only good - but dominant - at the line of scrimmage, particularly in run blocking.

It wasn't just newcomer Grey Zabel's brilliance, either. Collectively, the starting unit played far better than we have seen at any time in the John Schneider or Pete Carroll era. The preseason grades from Pro Football Focus bare that out, but the backups didn't do so well. Here's how they graded out and where they ranked on the team.

Seahawks OL starter grades

LT Josh Jones*: 73.0 overall (ranked 11th), 74.7 pass blocking, 69.2 run blocking

LG Grey Zabel: 86.2 overall (ranked 2nd), 72.9 pass blocking, 82.3 run blocking

C Jalen Sundell: 77.0 overall (ranked 6th), 84.6 pass blocking, 73.2 run blocking

RG Anthony Bradford: 81.0 overall (ranked 4th), 58.3 pass blocking, 79.6 run blocking

RT Abe Lucas: 89.7 overall (ranked 1st), 78.1 pass blocking, 90.9 run blocking

With the lone exception of Anthony Bradford's pass protection - which is still remarkably improved compared to what we're used to seeing - these are spectacular marks all around. *Charles Cross will obviously start at left tackle once the regular season begins now that he's healthy again.

Now, let's take a look at how the backups graded out during the preseason.

Seahawks OL backup grades

OT Mason Richman: 70.1 overall (ranked 17th), 51.3 pass blocking, 77.3 run blocking

OT Mike Jerrell: 64.8 overall (ranked 21st), 69.5 pass blocking, 65.8 run blocking

OT Bryce Cabeldue: 60.5 overall (ranked 25th), 55.8 pass blocking, 64.0 run blocking

OT Luke Felix-Fualalo: 58.1 overall (ranked 27th), 79.6 pass blocking, 63.3 run blocking

G Christian Haynes: 51.0 overall (ranked 35th), 29.4 pass blocking, 56.2 run blocking

C Federico Maranges: 50.5 overall (ranked 36th), 58.3 pass blocking, 57.7 run blocking

G Sataoa Laumea: 46.0 overall (ranked 37th), 26.9 pass blocking, 57.1 run blocking

As you can see, the tackle situation is still pretty strong, but the interior offensive line could be a major liability once again if any of the three projected starters (Zabel, Sundell, Bradford) are injured. So, you see why the Seahawks would be interested in adding a proven veteran to this group like free agent Dalton Risner, who visted recently.