Seahawks have clear plan for rookie guard Beau Stephens

The Seattle Seahawks ended up making eight selections in the 2026 NFL Draft. Arguably their best value pick was fifth-round guard Beau Stephens, who general manager John Schneider traded up to No. 148 overall to go nab. The Seahawks appear to have a clear developmental plan for Stephens moving forward into training camp.

Stephens primarily played left guard at Iowa. The Seahawks have 2025 first-round pick Grey Zabel at that spot. Naturally, Stephens spent rookie minicamp making the transition to right guard, where the Seahawks have far bigger questions.

Starting right guard Anthony Bradford is entering a contract year. Pro Football Focus assigned him an overall grade of 50.6 for his performance last season, including a lackluster 40.8 as a pass blocker. It feels extremely unlikely that Bradford will earn a contract extension from the Seahawks.

Guard Christian Haynes, Seattle's 2024 third-round pick, appears to be a rare miss by Schneider. The former UConn interior lineman hasn't shown any consistency that suggests he's a future starter. Trading up to select Stephens may even be an admission of that, as the Seahawks start thinking about Bradford's successor.

Stephens will lcross-train at both guard positions, Mike Macdonald said at minicamp. That makes sense. Stephens played left/right guard at Iowa, and backup linemen must be versatile in the NFL. But the initial indication is that Stephens might be preparing to eventually replace Bradford.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks have clear plan for rookie guard Beau Stephens