Is the Seattle Seahawks OL headed in the right direction?

The Seattle Seahawks offensive line is coming off one of its best performances.

Bump: How Seattle Seahawks’ DK Metcalf fooled defense on TD catch

The unit surrendered just one sack and paved the way for more than 100 yards on the ground in Sunday’s 34-14 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

It was a far from perfect performance, however, as quarterback Geno Smith was still pressured on 47 percent of his throws, the third-most of any quarterback in Week 7. And there’s also the caveat that coming against an Atlanta defense that was last in the league with five sacks and 26th against the incoming rush.

But he was still a welcome signing for a much-maligned group that has been dealing with injuries to the right team all season.

Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL O-lineman Ray Roberts shared what he’s seen in the group so far when he joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Tuesday.

Looking for continuity

The left side of the line and the center have been positions of stability in the forward line this season. Left tackle Charles Cross, left guard Laken Tomlinson and center Connor Williams have started all seven games.

But the right side of the line has been a different story. Right guard Anthony Bradford has made all seven starts, but has been in a rotation with rookie Christian Haynes for several weeks. And right tackle has been a revolving door with top option Abraham Lucas still out after offseason knee surgery and second and third basemen George Fant (knee) and Stone Forsythe (hand) each missing one with injuries.

Injuries at right tackle led to fourth-string rookie Michael Jerrell, a sixth-round pick out of D-II University of Findlay, making the start Sunday against the Falcons.

How Seahawks sixth-round pick Jerrell impressed at RT

“You’d like somebody to take over that (right guard) position and make it so you don’t have to make that rotation that worsens some of the chemistry along the offensive line, especially when you’re playing your fourth inning right,” Roberts said. “So you want some stability in that.”

Head coach Mike Macdonald said Sunday that Fant could return from injured reserve this week, and on Monday said there’s a chance Lucas could return to practice this week.

“You wish you could throw five guys out there and everything is clicking on all cylinders, and you’ve got a new system and a new staff and new players and everything works great. But that hasn’t been the case,” Roberts said. “… I think it’s still a work in progress. We hope they finish strong. If you think about the season in terms of quarters, they’re already in the second quarter and hopefully by the end of the second quarter into the second half of the season, start playing and clicking.”

What the O-line does well

The struggles on the offensive line have been well documented for the Seahawks. But is there anything the unit is doing right? Brock and Salk co-host Mike Salk asked Roberts for his thoughts.

“That’s tough because they haven’t had a good chance to really come into their own in the run game. I think they could be good downhill runners,” Roberts said. “I think last week when you saw Kenneth Walker start to the left and then cut to the right (on a 20-yard touchdown run) — kind of (a) between-the-tackles-type offensive line – I think that’s what they could do better. And then I think they’re good pass blockers if you get to throw a play action pass, that kind of thing. But if you just want them to go down 55 times and Geno is in the same spot, it’s going to be tough for them.”

Listen to the full conversation with Seattle Seahawks Radio Network analyst Ray Roberts at this link or in the audio player at the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10am or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Learn more about the Seattle Seahawks

• Seahawks injury updates on Abe Lucas, DK, Woolen and more
• Macdonald: The Seahawks CB had a “shocking effort” on the touchdown
• How Seahawks sixth-round pick RT Jerrell impressed Macdonald, Geno
• Seahawks’ Ken Walker III celebrates birthday with epic “flu game.”
• “Untrammeled”: Seahawks scrappy secondary soars to victory

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