Field Gulls
Laumea was put into the Seahawks’ starting lineup late in the season as a right guard. How well did the former Utah standout perform?
One of the Seattle Seahawks’ three sixth-round picks in the 2024 draft, offensive lineman Sataoa Laumea, managed to be the starter for part of the season. Given his status and a seemingly uninspiring training camp, getting the starting job was surprising.
Maybe when Laumea took over as the starter due to Anthony Bradford’s injury, the most uninformed fans might not have known who he was. That’s only natural since Laumea was on the third and fourth teams during training camp. There was more chance of him being cut before the regular season than of him getting a snap in his first year.
Laumea was inactive until Week 13 (Bradford’s injury). I can’t understand how someone who didn’t train well enough to be active in games could be better than Christian Haynes in practice. If that were true, why wasn’t Haynes inactive?
Anyway…
The former Utah player took over as a starter and was responsible for Seattle’s best moments in the running game in this final stretch (Weeks 13-17). In fact, former offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb could have explored the runs to the right side of the OL much more.
However, Laumea had a lot of problems in pass protection. He had the worst grade among the rookies: 17.8, the second worst was 41.9, just for comparison. He conceded 23 pressures, of which 17 happened in just two games, against the Packers (10) and Vikings (7). He conceded 2 against the Jets, 1 against the Cardinals, 0 against the Bears and 3 against the Rams.
This is a problem that happens in the pass pro and in the running game as well. He needs to use his leverage better to sustain the blocks for longer.
Excellent double-team execution and goes up to the second level to make a key block for the RB.
Good mobility to execute the long trap.
I believe that one of the main reasons Seattle’s running game was so poor was the lack of physicality from the OL and Laumea brought that element to the games he started.
In addition to his physicality, he can do a good job in open space.
Good athletic ability.
Another good double-team execution, creates the gap for Kenny McIntosh’s run.
A creative call from Ryan Grubb. Two RBs and a running threat from Ken Walker, but the one who advances is Zach Charbonnet. Laumea creates the gap for the run that allows the TD in a crucial moment of that game against the Jets that was full of twists and turns.
He takes a while to identify the stunt, focusing only on the crasher and allowing the looper to infiltrate this stunt.
Even though he is the “alert” for the center, he comes out late from the snap and cannot...
