Mike Macdonald outlines plans for Seahawks rookie guard Beau Stephens

Offensive Lineman Beau Stephens stands for a photo during Iowa Football’s media day on Aug. 8, 2025, in Iowa City. | Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Fifth-round picks don’t usually garner a ton of intrigue, but when the Seattle Seahawks traded 2027 draft capital to get Beau Stephens at pick 148 in last month’s NFL Draft, it certainly caused a bit of a stir as far as what it could mean for the offensive line.

Stephens was an All-American guard at Iowa, a program that’s been notoriously light on “scoring points” but high on producing standout zone-blocking offensive linemen and pass-catching tight ends over the years. The obvious storyline regarding Stephens is whether or not he could push Anthony Bradford for the starting right guard spot. Even if not for 2026, Bradford’s contract is expiring at the end of the season.

At rookie minicamp, Stephens lined up at right guard, which is where he’ll start out based on what head coach Mike Macdonald said in his press conference.

“Beau is on the right side, but we’re going to train him at both spots,” Macdonald said. “We’ll see how it goes inside. You need flexibility across, on the interior part of your line. He’s played both in his career. Right now he’s playing right guard, but we’ll be training him right and left.”

At Iowa, Stephens was a left guard in the 2024 and 2025 seasons. He scarcely played in 2023, but he was exclusively a right guard in the 2022 season, so he’s got experience on both sides of the line. Seattle has no worries at left guard, which is occupied by Grey Zabel.

While Anthony Bradford is arguably coming off his best year, he’s also effectively been vying for a starting job every season of his career. He sat behind Phil Haynes as a rookie before replacing an injured Haynes for the rest of the year, dealt with competition from Christian Haynes in subsequent seasons but nevertheless got the starting nod both times. Bradford has never been benched and yet has never been an unquestioned starter entering training camp.