Seahawks Sixth-Round Pick Justin Senior: Redshirt Season or Not?

The Seahawks needed reinforcements for the offensive line. They addressed the weakest area of their team by drafting Justin Senior. Will he see action as a rookie, or will offensive line and assistant coach Tom Cable redshirt him?

The Seahawks appeared to be mostly happy with the collection of offensive linemen they retained or brought in via free agency heading into the NFL Draft. Mississippi State right tackle Justin Senior, a sixth round pick, was the second of two offensive linemen the Seahawks drafted last month, joining Ethan Pocic, a second-round pick.

Before I try to guess where Senior could fit into the plans of the 2017 Seattle Seahawks, I have to mention is bizarre draft experience. A week after the Seahawks took him in the sixth round of the NFL Draft, he was drafted….again… by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. That’s right, Senior was drafted by two different teams in two different football leagues.

Here’s the tweet to prove it (ignore the mistake by the Eskimos’ social media manager):

Hilarious. The CFL had its eye on the Montreal native, apparently. Naturally, Senior will join the Seahawks and save the Eskimos as a backup plan if he doesn’t make it in the NFL.

Okay, back to business. Here are the offensive linemen on Seattle’s roster as of now:

C Justin Britt

C Joey Hunt

G Oday Aboushi

G Mark Glowinski

G Germain Ifedi

G Rees Odhiambo

G/C Will Pericak

OL Luke Joeckel

OL Ethan Pocic

OT George Fant

OT Robert Myers

OT Justin Senior

We won’t know what the starting lineup for Tom Cable’s offensive line will be Week One. And even if we did, that’s no way to predict who will be starting on the line for each game after that. Last season, Cable shuffled the line around several times to try and find someone (anyone) who could protect Russell Wilson. He was mostly unsuccessful. Britt was pretty much the only o-lineman who would start on another team’s healthy offensive line.

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As of now, before Training Camp and Preseason, the starting lineup appears to be: LT Joeckel (yikes), LG Glowinski, C Britt, RG Ifedi (ugghhh), RT Aboushi. I just couldn’t keep my cringing commentary out of that starting lineup.

The hope, at least now, weeks before Training Camp and months before meaningful football, is that Ifedi will improve after an uneven rookie season, Aboushi can provide some stability on the right side, Joeckel can suddenly figure out how to be a good offensive lineman in the NFL, and Glowinski couldn’t possibly be that bad again.

Senior was a three-year starter for the MSU Bulldogs and the anchor for their offensive line. Most scouts doubt he’ll be a first-year starter, even for the Seahawks, who love to start any big man they can find on the line. Provided Cable can help Senior retool his pass-blocking skills, he figures to have a high ceiling in the NFL as one of the most athletic offensive tackles in the NFL Draft.

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How Senior develops under the tutelage of Cable and the Seahawks staff, most likely on the bench, will likely depend on how much game action he’s forced into before he’s ready. Let’s hope Seattle can stash him and keep him away from guys like Aaron Donald so he can develop.