What a change is here. While it's still early in the game, the Seattle Seahawks look absolutely nothing like the team they were at the tail end of the Pete Carroll era. While Pete deserves all the credit in the world for what he accomplished, his successor is quickly putting him to shame by turning all the weaknesses Seattle had over the last few years into new-found assets.
Best of all, the Seahawks' offensive line has been radically transformed. At the end of the 2024 season Pro Football Focus had them ranked 31st in the league. Through two preseason games they almost look like an elite NFL unit - especially when it comes to run blocking. PFF's grades for last night's win over the Kansas City Chiefs illustrate the dramatic transformation.
For the second straight week, the offensive line has dominated the top of PFF's grading chart for the Seahawks. Four of the top six grades went to linemen, including right guard Anthony Bradford at the very top with a 92.9 overall mark thanks to a 90.2 in run blocking. Center Jalen Sundell bounced back from a bad game against the Raiders to post the second-highest grade for Seattle's offense at 92.4 overall. Right tackle Abe Lucas (82.4) and left guard Grey Zabel (78.7) were also near the top.
Rookie fullback Robbie Ouzts (85.9) has also quickly become an integral part of Seattle's vicious new rushing attack, which racked up 268 yards and two touchdowns on 5.6 yards per attempt.
The lowest grade on offense went to Sataoa Laumea, who saw his 46.3 overall grade dragged down by a brutal mark in pass blocking (24.8).
Backup quarterback Drew Lock had a pretty forgettable outing against Vegas, including a bad miscommunication with Tory Horton and a severe underthrow that got intercepted. Lock rebounded with a great game against Kansas City, though. He went 10/12 for 129 yards, a passer rating of 151.0 and a 75.2 overall grade that ranked seventh on offense. Sam Darnold earned a 64.8 grade for his one drive, where he wasn't asked to do much.
On the other side of the ball there were a bunch of standouts, but the safety room in particular came to play. The highest grade on defense went to Jerrick Reed II, who came in at 90.9 overall on the strength of an 86.3 grade in coverage and 80.7 in tackling. Next up was Coby Bryant, who posted an 80.8 grade with an identical mark in tackling and a strong 75.5 in coverage. Julian Love also made the top 10 with a 72.2 overall grade, including a 78.5 in tackling.
At the bottom end of the defensive grades was nose takle Bubba Thomas, who put in 12 snaps and earned a putrid 28.6 overall grade thanks to a 29.6 mark in run defense. Fellow nose tackle Quinton Bohanna (40.9) wasn't far from the bottom either, but they were overshadowed Brandon Pili (80.0), who notched a safety.
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