NFL coaches are nothing if not cagey about their lineup plans. It seems first-year Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is no exception to the rule. When he was asked after their most recent practice who would be starting at right guard, Macdonald made it clear he knows who'll get the nod, but he also has no plans of sharing that information with the media, and by extension his Week 1 opponents, the Denver Broncos.
Here's what Macdonald shared when he was asked whether it would be rookie Christian Haynes out of UConn or former LSU lineman Anthony Bradford starting at that spot.
"We have a pretty good feel for how we're going to line up next week at this point... Let's just kind of keep it under wraps and let them figure it out first snap of the game."
Macdonald has to deal with a few injuries, but this is the only true training camp competition that has not yet officially been decided. So, who should it be?
Anthony Bradford vs. Christian Haynes
Bradford was the team's weakest link up front last season and earned the lowest offensive grade on the team from Pro Football Focus. Bradford earned a particularly poor 38.9 grade in pass blocking. However, Bradford was only a rookie and a fourth-round draft pick at that - typically not a spot you expect to find a reliable starter, at least not right away.
As for Haynes, he was a third-round pick by Seattle this year but comes in more highly-regarded than Bradford was as a rookie. Haynes earned strong grades each of the last three seasons in college, including an 82.5 in pass protection last year.
For our money we'd rather see Haynes get as much experience as he can as a rookie, unless Bradford can prove that he's taken a big step forward from his rookie season - which is always a possibility. Haynes should get the start against the Broncos, though.
Injuries could have Seahawks' lineup in flux
While we don't know who will get the nod to start the season at right guard, we do have a pretty good idea how the rest of the lineup is supposed to look on paper. However, multiple injuries have the potential to throw the group into flux going into Week 1 against Denver.
Aside from the as-yet officially unsettled right guard competition, other question marks for the starting units include center, where Connor Williams is still getting settled in and may not be ready to start quite yet. Wide receiver Tyler Lockett has also been sitting out practice lately with a leg injury, so we can only pencil him in as a starter for now.
On the other side of the ball there's weakside linebacker, where it will be either Jerome Baker or rookie Tyrice Knight, who played well in preseason. There's also a question of whether or not Rayshawn Jenkins can go at strong safety. If not it will be K'Von Wallace starting there. Finally, while he hasn't been listed as a starter as of yet this offseason, we wouldn't be at all surprised to see standout rookie Byron Murphy lining up with the ones.
Here are our best-guess projections for the starting units going into Week 1.
Seahawks Week 1 projected starting lineup
QB: Geno Smith
RB: Ken Walker
WR: DK Metcalf, JSN, Tyler Lockett?
TE Noah Fant
LT: Charles Cross, LG: Laken Tomlinson, C: Connor Williams/Olu Oluwatimi, RG: Christian Haynes/Anthony Bradford, RT: George Fant
DE Leonard Williams, NT Johnathan Hankins, DE Jarran Reed/Byron Murphy II
EDGE: Boye Mafe, Dre'Mont Jones
MLB: Tyrel Dodson, WLB: Jerome Baker/Tyrice Knight
CB: Devon Witherspoon (S), Tre Brown (L), Riq Woolen (R)
FS: Julian Love, SS: Rayshawn Jenkins/K'Von Wallace
