Seahawks o-line coach Andy Dickerson drops surprising name when discussing RT

In the 2022 NFL Draft the Seattle Seahawks used two of their first four selections on offensive tackles in Charles Cross and Abe Lucas. That, of course, led optimistic fans to seize on the optimistic outlook for both players, and many became certain the duo would become bookends on the line for several seasons to come.

Training camp is barely a week old, but so far that has yet to come to fruition, with Cross having locked down the left tackle spot, while the competition at right tackle remains wide open. In particular, Stone Forsythe was practicing with the first team at the position Wednesday, after Jake Curhan had been in that spot Tuesday.

With that in mind, after practice Seahawks offensive line coach Andy Dickerson was asked about the spot, and after providing a humorous initial response, provided some more detail and added an interesting name for fans to consider.

Now, the reaction of most to the idea of seeing Kyle Fuller at right tackle is likely in line with what Field Gulls Managing Editor Mookie Alexander had to say on the subject.

That said, as Dickerson notes the Seahawks did play Fuller at right tackle for 11 snaps late in the blowout victory over the New York Jets in 2020. That’s obviously not going to be a world-changing amount of experience, but it does bring the discussion to several interesting points.

Specifically, if Fuller is able to provide some level of depth at four of the five spots on the line, it could make his path onto the final 53 man roster easier. Teams keep eight offensive linemen on the gameday active roster, and Fuller potentially being able to fill in at four of five spots would give the team more flexibility with the other two depth spots.

That’s not the only interesting bit, though, as the idea of potentially having a big, physical mauler at right tackle could be appealing to Dickerson. As has been previously discussed, part of the reason the Hawks likely paired Brandon Shell and Gabe Jackson on the right side of the line was to give the team a powerful, mauling right side capable of mixing gap runs, like Duo, to the right side, with an athletic side of Duane Brown and Damien Lewis together on the left. With Jackson still in place on the right side, there is less urgency to put a highly athletic player at right tackle, and keeping Jackson paired with a mauler would continue to allow the Hawks to run many of the power runs they enjoyed running behind Jackson and Shell.

With that in mind, and keeping in mind that there is absolutely no intention of comparing the blocking abilities of Fuller and Los Angeles Rams right tackle Rob Havenstein, there are enough similarities that fans shouldn’t be shocked if Fuller snags some snaps at right tackle late in one of the preseason games.

To reiterate, this is in no way an attempt to compare Fuller’s abilities as an offensive lineman to those of Havenstein, or even to any of the others. However, the idea that Fuller could act as a mauler on the right side, or even as a situational big, mauling sixth offensive lineman a la George Fant in short yardage situations while providing depth at multiple spots on the line could be just enough to keep him around.