ESPN projects another poor finish for Seahawks, another first-round OL pick in 2026

Even the best-laid plans go to waste when you get punched in the mouth... or something like that. What we mean to say is that right now the Seattle Seahawks and 31 other teams are probably feeling confident and positive about their prospects for the 2025 NFL season. However, hope has a habit of jumping out the window when reality comes crashing down in Week 1 and the actual games begin.

In Seattle's case, all the good things about their 2025 draft class and the way the franchise set itself up to compete better in the long run with the major franchise-shaking trades in March might all be useless if the pass protection is still a huge problem like it was last year, and the year before that... and the year before that.

Even though the Seahawks used their first-round pick on the top interior offensive line prospect in the draft, Grey Zabel is only one man and this is probably still one of the worst overall units in the league right now. If that is the case it shouldn't come as a huge surprise if Seattle once again misses out on the playoffs.

That's what happens in a new projection from Jordan Reid at ESPN, who has the Seahawks finishing with the 12th pick in the 2026 NFL draft, which they use on Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano - who would be slated to take over at right tackle for Abe Lucas.

"The Seahawks drafted Grey Zabel in Round 1 this year, but they could easily go back to the offensive line next April. Right tackle Abraham Lucas has struggled to stay on the field in Seattle. Perhaps the Seahawks look for more help there..."

The most frustrating part of this is that Lucas' knee issue wasn't a new thing - the Seahawks were aware of the problem when they spent a third-round draft pick on him out of Washington State. Lucas had a promising rookie year, but the knee has kept him on the sidelines for more than half of the last two seasons, which make right tackle at least half a roster hole going into the new season.

If Lucas continues to miss significant time it'll press more backups into action, where they have fared very poorly over the last couple of years. Combined with atrocious pass blocking at right guard, the dynamic on the right side of the line was a back-breaking one, even for a very gifted starting QB at avoiding pressure.

The Seahawks should have used some of the cap space they saved by trading away Geno Smith and DK Metcalf on another proven OL starter - and they probably should have used another one of their five top-100 picks on a promising OL prospect. They didn't do either one, which means we could be rolling into 2025 with only left tackle and left guard being secure - and the three other spots potentially being severe liabilities.

If this plays out and Seattle misses the postseason again general manager John Schneider should start to feel some heat in his seat.