Blythe retires

[NorthHawk]

So it looks like C is even more important in this off season.
I hope it means going after a good one in the draft, but with this FOs history we’ll probably just put a former OT in that place and call it good.
Blythe didn’t play that well, but he had a lot of experience and that part will be missed.

edit:
Trading a 1st for another try with BJ Finnie would be an expected course with this regime, they value C so little.

[RiverDog]

Here's what Pete had to say about Blythe retiring:

"We got to get the center thing figured out. Austin had a really nice year for us last year and did a good job for us, as a really leader for us," Carroll said, noting Blythe almost retired last offseason. "

A really nice year? PFF ranked Blythe ranked 31st amongst centers.

https://www.pff.com/nfl/grades/position/c

I don't see his retirement as being a big deal. We were going to have to address the center position in the offseason anyway as Blythe was nothing but a stop gap.

We also re-signed Phil Haynes, who is projected to replace Gabe Jackson, a likely cap casualty, at RG.

[NorthHawk]

It’s the experience that we will miss up front. I don’t think it’s valued enough by our FO, but yeah, an upgrade is needed anyway.
I just hope they don’t wait until the 6th round or later, but I expect they will.

[RiverDog]

It’s the experience that we will miss up front. I don’t think it’s valued enough by our FO, but yeah, an upgrade is needed anyway.
I just hope they don’t wait until the 6th round or later, but I expect they will.

They'd better not wait until the 6th round, not with the draft resources we have this year, unless they go out and make a big free agent signing.

I still have my eye on that guy from Minnesota. I think he'd be a great selection with our natural pick in the 2nd round if he's still available.

[Hawktawk]

Damien Lewis was our only halfway decent graded interior lineman while everyone else was bad. Interior line pressure really hurt our passing game late last year as there was no pocket to climb. Walkers extreme lateral ability allowed us to run but we couldn't move the pile in short yardage. Blythe was just small ond overpowered. nned a center.

[RiverDog]

Damien Lewis was our only halfway decent graded interior lineman while everyone else was bad. Interior line pressure really hurt our passing game late last year as there was no pocket to climb. Walkers extreme lateral ability allowed us to run but we couldn't move the pile in short yardage. Blythe was just small ond overpowered. nned a center.

Yup, agreed. Reading the scouting report on Schmitz makes me salivate as he's 6'4", 320 lbs and is described as a brawler, something that we really need in the center of our OL. I want to see us to be able to run a QB sneak like the Eagles.

[NorthHawk]

History shows we will ignore that and just try to patch it up with a career backup or player from another position who has never played at Center at all let alone in the NFL.

[Old but Slow]

This is not a good draft class for centers and guards. Do not be surprised if they sign a vet at center, and use a mid round to take a guard. Or as an outlying idea (courtesy of Rob Staten) to draft Dewand Jones to play RT and move Lucas to RG. Jones could turn out to be a phenomenon with his unusual size and athleticism. At 6' 8" and 275 pounds he is huge and strong, but he also moves well. And an 89" wing span is unreal. He is tough to get past. At the Senior Bowl practices he was throwing big men around like they were kids. He may be available in the 2d round, as most teams have no idea how. to use a guy this big.

It is hard to be confident that we will see a good solution to our interior line, as the history is not good. There does not seem to be the level of talent historically that we can list. We had a HOF guard once that we let get away, traded away a decent center, and that's about it. I am likely missing someone or two, but the argument stands.

There seems to be a trend to have a big, strong defensive tackle that can overpower centers, and require double teams, and the Seahawks have not responded to that. They seem to want a smaller, more mobile center with a wrestling background. I am not sure that that is the way to go.

[NorthHawk]

This is not a good draft class for centers and guards. Do not be surprised if they sign a vet at center, and use a mid round to take a guard. Or as an outlying idea (courtesy of Rob Staten) to draft Dewand Jones to play RT and move Lucas to RG. Jones could turn out to be a phenomenon with his unusual size and athleticism. At 6' 8" and 275 pounds he is huge and strong, but he also moves well. And an 89" wing span is unreal. He is tough to get past. At the Senior Bowl practices he was throwing big men around like they were kids. He may be available in the 2d round, as most teams have no idea how. to use a guy this big.

It is hard to be confident that we will see a good solution to our interior line, as the history is not good. There does not seem to be the level of talent historically that we can list. We had a HOF guard once that we let get away, traded away a decent center, and that's about it. I am likely missing someone or two, but the argument stands.

There seems to be a trend to have a big, strong defensive tackle that can overpower centers, and require double teams, and the Seahawks have not responded to that. They seem to want a smaller, more mobile center with a wrestling background. I am not sure that that is the way to go.

I don't have much faith in our FO's ability to develop a good OL. We've just been trying to cobble together a group of players and patch holes for their entire reign.
We have in Lucas a very good RT who played like a veteran his first year. We can expect him to improve this year, so why move him out of his natural position to a spot that he may regress as a player? It just seems like such a waste, but is surely in keeping with what we might do. I believe that if we need a Guard, draft a good LG and move Lewis back to his natural RG position. Maybe someone like Avila if he's still there in the 2nd round, but please let the young players develop properly at the positions they were expected to play and had success at the lower level.