Seattle Seahawks: Breaking down offensive line at 2019 offseason

Duane Brown and Germain Ifedi, Tackles

It must have been like Christmas a million times over for Wilson when Seattle traded for Brown in the middle of 2017. The Seahawks opened their wallet and then paid to keep the left tackle all the way through the 2021 season. By then, Brown will be 36 years old and probably declining, but his signing already paid off for Seattle in 2018.

If I’m going to praise the Seahawks for anything regarding their handling of the offensive line, it would be that they generally do a good job at protecting the left side. Before Brown, Russell Okung made a Pro Bowl at the same position. Brown made the Pro Bowl in 2017 and in 2018, although he missed the Pro Bowl, he was named a Second Team All-Pro by the Associated Press. It was the first team Brown made an All-Pro team since 2012.

Pro Football Focus (subscription required) gave Brown an 82.3 grade for 2018, which ranks fifth among tackles. Wilson should feel perfectly comfortable with Brown guarding him. Unfortunately, the team’s other tackle isn’t as skilled.

Where do I even begin with Ifedi? I would need all of my fingers and toes to count the number of times I’ve written about him since the start of the 2018 season, and there usually isn’t anything good to say. PFF gave Ifedi a 55.2 grade for 2018, which meant he was the 71st best tackle in the league by PFF’s standards. There are only 64 starting tackles in the NFL, meaning Ifedi was worse than some rotational tackles and backups.

Ifedi’s play is more than disappointing for Seattle. They took the Texas A&M product with the 31st overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He was supposed to be a building block along the line, but he turned into a liability instead. Pro Football Reference credits Ifedi with 33 penalties in his 44 career appearances. Brown is only credited with 49 penalties in 158 games. That gives a pretty good picture of how sloppy Ifedi has been.

Good news for Seattle though, 2019 may be their final season with Ifedi. The team will have the option to pick up Ifedi’s fifth-year option and keep him for 2020 as well, but the Seahawks should admit their mistake and move on after 2019. At that point, there would be no point in prolonging the relationship unless the Seahawks are completely convinced they can’t get a better player at the right tackle position.

Daryl Williams and Ja’Wuan James are the best available right tackles in free agency this offseason, but I don’t anticipate Seattle making a run at either as long as they’re paying Ifedi.

For more grades, advanced statistics and more at Pro Football Focus, subscribe to PFF’s EDGE or ELITE subscriptions at ProFootballFocus.com.