Over the years the Seattle Seahawks have see their fair share of turnover and injuries on the offensive line, as 26 different players have started at least one game in the five and a half seasons since the Hawks raised the Lombardi trophy on February 2, 2014. The players who have started games for the team in that timeframe include:
- Jamarco Jones,
- J’Marcus Webb,
- Jordan Simmons,
- Stephen Schilling,
- Lemuel Jeanpierre,
- Joey Hunt,
- Max Unger,
- Rees Odhiambo,
- Drew Nowak,
- Mike Iupati,
- Alvin Bailey,
- Oday Aboushi,
- Bradley Sowell,
- Luke Joeckel,
- Patrick Lewis,
- James Carpenter,
- D.J. Fluker,
- Ethan Pocic,
- Mark Glowinski,
- George Fant,
- Russell Okung,
- Garry Gilliam,
- Duane Brown,
- J.R. Sweezy and
- Germain Ifedi.
However, no offensive lineman in that timeframe has started more games for the Hawks than Justin Britt. In fact, Britt’s 86 starts since being drafted in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft are 34 more than the next closest Seattle lineman during that time (Germain Ifedi, 52). Thus, the next eight games for the Seahawks will be somewhat uncharted territory for a Seattle offensive line that will see Britt miss as many starts in the two weeks before the bye than was seen over the first five and a half seasons of his career.
In short, Joey Hunt has some big shoes to fill, and for the second time in three career starts, Hunt will attempt to fill those shoes while taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the aggressive, blitzing defense of Todd Bowles.
Getting to this week’s look at how the offensive line stacks up compared to the other lines around the league, here is where they rank in the various offensive line metrics available.
Football Outsiders
Run Blocking: 21st (Up from 24th after Week 7)
Pass Blocking: 17th (Down from 16th after Week 7)
PFF
Pass Blocking Efficiency: 28th (Down from 27th after Week 7)
Pass Blocking Grade: 31st (Down from 29th after Week 7)
Run Blocking Grade: 14th (Up from 17th after Week 7)
https://t.co/TSH2hbHW1G Week 8 PFF Grades: Seattle Seahawks vs. Atlanta Falcons #Seahawks #NFL #GoHawks
— /r/Seahawks (@SeahawksReddit) October 28, 2019
Between Britt going down early in the game with an injury, and the Seahawks rotating George Fant and Jamarco Jones in at times, all eight offensive linemen on the roster saw offensive snaps during Week 8. Here’s how PFF graded those snaps.
- George Fant: Overall: 50.9, Pass Blocking: 59.9, Run Blocking: 57.8
- Duane Brown: Overall: 65.6, Pass Blocking: 62.9, Run Blockig: 64.1
- Mike Iupati: Overall: 54.5, Pass Blocking: 25.7, Run Blocking: 59.8
- Justin Britt: Overall: 57.3, Pass Blocking: 70.6, Run Blocking: 54.7
- Jamarco Jones: Overall: 43.6, Pass Blocking: 0.0, Run Blocking: 58.4
- D.J. Fluker: Overall: 40.2, Pass Blocking: 69.7, Run Blocking: 49.0
- Germain Ifedi: Overall: 66.0, Pass Blocking: 74.2, Run Blocking: 59.9
- Joey Hunt: Overall: 48.7, Pass Blocking: 40.2, Run Blocking: 50.6
PBWR
As they started last week, ESPN is now publishing their full Pass Block Win Rating standings. The Seahawks slipped to 28th from 27th this week, and are just a single percent above the Atlanta Falcons. However, there is a sizable gap between Atlanta and the Carolina Panthers in 30th.