The Seahawks have made a choice up front, and it shows every time they try to move bodies in the run game.
This is a line built more for space than for brute force. Charles Cross, Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell, and to a slightly lesser degree Abraham Lucas, all do their best work when they can get moving, angle defenders, and operate in the open field.
Put them in position to attack smaller, more agile defenders and the picture looks much cleaner. Ask them to win a straight-up collision battle with big interior linemen, and things get tougher.
That matters because Seattle’s run game has leaned into a style that fits that profile. Outside zone asks linemen to reach spots, seal lanes, and create room with movement, not pure force.
But every offense still needs a play when the answer is simply to go right at the middle of a defense and take what’s there. For the Seahawks, that’s where Anthony Bradford comes in.
Bradford is not the kind of player whose tape leaves everyone impressed. He piles up penalties.
He gives up a pressure rate that is shockingly high for a right guard. And when he misses, it’s the kind of miss that tends to end up on lowlight reels across the NFL meme circuit.
It’s easy to understand why evaluators and a site like Pro Football Focus look at his game so harshly.
And yet he brings something the rest of the group does not.
He’s the one starter on this offensive line with a real nasty edge. He’s the one big and strong enough to consistently handle the ugly work in the middle, to take over a rep and open a hole when Seattle wants to run through traffic.
He’s also athletic enough not to be a total liability when the play calls for movement. That combination has real value, even if it doesn’t always show up in the prettiest way.
That was part of what the Seahawks were asking for against the Kansas City Chiefs. On traditional runs to a back, 3.5 yards per carry is not exactly a number that jumps off the page. But Emanuel Wilson, the team’s third-string back when health permits, still managed to grind out 4.2 yards per carry.
And the way Seattle ran the ball explains why Bradford matters. There was plenty of work up the middle, plenty of attempts to jam the ball into traffic and squeeze out a few yards just to stay on schedule.
In that kind of game, you need someone who can clear space by force. Bradford is the lineman built for that job.
In Other News...
Seahawks Win Over Chiefs Sparked A Viral Game-Day Mystery
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For a game that will be remembered in Seattle for the result, it also produced a strange side story that quickly took on a life of its own online. A viral photo from the game showing a person in bright clothing drew a wave of social media reactions, turning a regular game-day image into the kind of mystery fans could not stop talking about. [Read more 🡒]
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For Indianapolis, the timing of the trade says plenty about where things stand with the deadline approaching and how aggressively the Colts are willing to deal established talent. Nelson is in the final year of his contract, so Seattle is getting a proven starter with no long-term certainty attached, while the Colts turn a premier blocker into future draft capital and leave open what comes next as the market keeps moving. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks May Have Found A Defensive Weapon Opponents Can't Match
Nick Emmanwori keeps giving the Seahawks a little more reason to believe their defense has a rare piece in the mix. In the 20-3 win over the Chiefs, he showed up all over the field, making plays as a defensive back, sliding into off-ball linebacker work and even lining up as an edge rusher. For a Seattle unit that leaned on its run defense to control the game, his range and flexibility stood out as much as anything else.
Mike Macdonald and several teammates have already pointed to Emmanworis versatility as a real asset, and the best part for Seattle is that this is still early in the season. He is back from ankle surgery and has already logged meaningful snaps in a variety of roles through six games, which gives the Seahawks a lot to work with as they keep sorting out how to deploy him. The intriguing part now is less about whether he can fit in and more about how far they can push that role as the year goes on. [Read more 🡒]