Here’s a quick look at the offensive linemen for the Seattle Seahawks heading into training camp. The have 14 O-linemen on the 90-man roster, but probably won't keep more than nine on the 53-man roster to start the season, with maybe one or two others on the practice squad.
Locks -- Russell Okung, Justin Britt, J.R. Sweezy, Alvin Bailey. Okung and Britt will start off at the tackle spots and Sweezy will start at right guard. Bailey probably will start at left guard, but even if he doesn't, he's a quality back up and can play tackle or guard.
Likely to make the roster -- Lemuel Jeanpierre, Garry Gilliam, Mark Glowinski, Terry Poole and Kristjan Sokoli. Jeanpierre is the top contender to start at center, but four players are in the running. Gilliam was a rookie surprise last season. He still was learning the tackle spot after spending most of his college career as a tight end at Penn State, but he a talented athlete. The other three players in this category are rookie draft picks this year. Glowinski probably is the closest to being NFL-ready at this point, but all three are physical, aggressive blockers. One of them might end up on the practice squad, but it would be risky to try to get any of them through waivers.
Bubble -- Patrick Lewis and Drew Nowak. These are the two other contenders at center. Before OTAs, Lewis was thought to be top candidate to start, but he might have fallen to third on that list behind Jeanpierre and Nowak, the surprise contender. Nowak is lefthanded, highly unusual for a center. Even though I list them on the bubble, one of them probably makes it unless offensive line coach Tom Cable is comfortable that Sokoli (who played nose tackle in college) is ready to back up the man who wins the starting job.
Longshots -- Jesse Davis, Kona Schwenke and Keavon Milton. The coaches really like Davis a rookie free agent out of Idaho, but he's a project and likely headed to the practice squad. Schwenke is another player moving from the defensive line in college at Notre Dame. The Seahawks kept Milton around for a reason last year because they see the upside potential at guard, but he might get caught up in the numbers game.
