Seattle Seahawks' Offensive Line, Secondary in Summer Spotlight

Now that the NFL Draft is in the rear view mirror, the 2009 NFL season is upon us. Minicamps and OTA's are going on across the league as we speak as teams prepare for a new campaign.

The Seattle Seahawks just emerged from a particularly important draft as they held the No. 4 pick overall after finishing 4-12 the previous season. With that choice, the Seahawks selected the player overwhelmingly considered the best player in the draft -- former Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry.

Curry was long desired by new Head Coach Jim Mora Jr. and General Manager Tim Ruskell after the team traded starting outside linebacker Julian Peterson to the Detroit Lions for DT Cory Redding and a draft pick.

Curry now, immediately plugs that hole while joining fellow linebackers Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill to form perhaps the best linebacking trio in the game.

After the Seahawks were able to sign Hill, their franchise tag designee, to a long term deal the week after the draft, they ensured that the trio of young studs would be kept in place for a long time to come.

The linebacking position will not be one of major competition this season or for the foreseeable future but there are some very important position battles elsewhere on the Seahawks roster this summer.

There are two "primary" positions of competition where starting jobs are up in the air and there are two "secondary" areas where the starting lineup may be set but the backup roles aren't clearly defined by any stretch of the imagination.

The two primary areas of focus for the Seahawks this summer will be the offensive line and the secondary where the team should see a couple new starters emerge from the previous season while the areas of defensive line and wide receiver could see some turnover as well.

Offensive Line

The Seahawks enter the '09 season with a complete holdover group from the '08 season minus oft-injured reserve Floyd "Pork Chop" Womack.

The team drafted versatile offensive lineman Max Unger as a replacement and re-signed T Ray Willis to a long term contract as perhaps the right tackle of the future when T Sean Locklear (who was re-signed to a long term deal the previous offseason) slides over to replace the future Hall-of-Famer T Walter Jones on the left side.

After dealing with some injuries, guards Rob Sims, Mike Wahle and second year player Mansfield Wrotto are all back healthy and ready to compete for starting jobs on the interior of the line.

C Chris Spencer also is recovering from injury problems from last season and will be back as the starting center after declaring he's 100 percent at the team's recent minicamp.

If the open competition weren't enough, the unit will also be dealing with learning a new zone blocking scheme this summer which should bring some life to an otherwise stagnant running game from the previous season.

Players to watch: Keep an eye on G Mansfield Wrotto and T Ray Willis. Wrotto could steal the starting LG job away from the aging veteran Wahle and if either Locklear or Jones suffers from any nagging injuries during training camp, Willis is more than capable of filling their shoes.

Projected starting lineup: LT Jones, G Wahle, C Spencer, G Sims, RT Locklear

Secondary

Everybody returns from this starting unit and that's the problem after it finished dead last in the league against the pass. Recently acquired CB Ken Lucas, who was released by the Panthers, will compete for the starting cornerback slot alongside CB Marcus Trufant. His primary competition will be from former starter Kelly Jennings and backup Josh Wilson.

Perhaps the more critical area of concern is safety and despite there being no significant newcomer brought in, changes could occur through in-house turnover.

Practice squad safety Jamar Adams was a personal favorite of Jim Mora Jr. and with an excellent training camp, could be in line to supplant veteran Brian Russell. Deon Grant's position as starter should be safe.

Player to watch: Jamar Adams. Russell is the biggest weakness of this unit and with a year of learning under his belt, Adams should be ready to go.

Projected starting lineup: CB Trufant, CB Lucas, SS Grant, FS Adams

Defensive Line

Another area of concern from last season was the pass rush so entering the '09 season the Seahawks will be looking hard at the defensive line to produce more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Defensive ends Patrick Kerney (coming off offseason surgery), Lawrence Jackson (last year's No. 1 pick) and Darryl Tapp will compete for the two starting jobs with Baraka Atkins waiting in the wings should anyone falter.

Defensive tackle is a bit more solidified. The starters should be Brandon Mebane and newly acquired Cory Redding. However, the Seahawks like to rotate their defensive tackles regularly so backups Colin Cole and Red Bryant should see plenty of playing time as well. Their main competition will be provided by veterans Craig Terrill and Kevin Brown.

Players to watch: Cory Redding and Lawrence Jackson. Redding will be used both as tackle and end likely, so he should garner the most playing time of the group. Watch out for Jackson, however. After a rookie season that was spent mostly learning the ropes, his sophomore campaign could be special.

Projected starting lineup: DE Jackson, DT Mebane, DT Redding, DE Kerney

Wide Receiver

The position that was probably most devastated by injuries last season. The Seahawks saw 11 players start and receive significant playing time, even getting so desperate at the time to trade a fifth round draft pick for Denver WR Keary Colbert who is no longer with the team.

Newly acquired WR T.J. Houshmanzadeh was the big offseason acquisition for the team and should get a starting nod while third round pick Deon Butler of Penn State should help augment the loss of Bobby Engram to Kansas City.

Veterans Deion Branch and Nate Burleson will be counted on to stay healthy and be consistent producers this time around.

Player to watch: Deion Branch. If he can stay healthy, and it's a big if, he is the biggest playmaker of this group and will solidify a potentially very solid group of receivers.

Projected starting lineup: Houshmanzadeh and Branch with Burleson and Butler coming in as third and fourth receivers.