RENTON, Wash. -- The one-on-one pass-rush drill between offensive and defensive linemen is a must-see at Seattle Seahawks training camp, and not just because of the ever-present potential for fireworks.
The rules are simple and self-explanatory, and the head-to-head setup takes away the advantages an offensive lineman would have in a game. There's no line-of-scrimmage traffic to clog up the pass-rush lanes, no double-teams or skill players to help out with a chip block, no threat of a run to keep the defenders honest and no quick throws to get the ball out before they can get to the quarterback.
And yet Duane Brown wins almost every time.
It's about as automatic as Richard Sherman was in defending a sideline fade, as sure as a third-down catch by Doug Baldwin.
If you're wondering why the Seahawks gave up as much as they did to acquire Brown (a pair of high draft picks), why they just spent as much as they did to keep him (an $11.5 million-per-year extension) and why the Pro Bowl left tackle is such a keystone to their offensive plans, watching him impose his will at practice is a good place to start.
"We battle every day," said defensive end Frank Clark, Seattle's best pass-rusher. "He makes me great, and I'm making him greater."
'He's all you're looking for'
Brown is entering his second season in Seattle, but in a way, you could almost consider him an addition.
It wasn't until Week 8 of 2017 when the Seahawks acquired Brown and a fifth-round pick from the Houston Texans for a third-round pick and a 2019 second. He had only returned to the Texans from his monthslong holdout a week before the trade, and in his second game with Seattle, he suffered a high ankle sprain that was bad enough to routinely keep him out of practice over the remainder of the season. He played in every game, albeit it nowhere close to 100 percent.
"Just who he is," coach Pete Carroll said when asked what Brown showed by playing through that injury. "We hadn't been through the battles with him, but his first indication of 'Is he going to be tough, is he going to push?' -- all that -- he did all that stuff and never even left a doubt. He's all you're looking for. Fantastic football player [and] fantastic team member."
Arriving midseason into a locker room where, by his count, he maybe knew four players made Brown hesitant to assert himself the way he did during his first nine years with Houston. That's why, he said, he felt it was important to show up for offseason workouts while his agent and the Seahawks worked out a three-year extension that was announced two days after the start of training camp.
Looking forward to playing the rest of my career here! #GoHawks pic.twitter.com/I8AbhfXy8h
— Duane Brown (@DuaneBrown76) July 28, 2018
At the end of practice a day earlier, there was the soon-to-be-33-year-old Brown leading the rest of the offensive line in wind sprints.
"This is a real leader," Carroll said. "He's a real man in that huddle and in the locker room, and we're very, very fortunate to have him. A great worker, a really astute ballplayer, he's got a great voice and perspective that's going to help other guys. Last year was right in the middle of everything. He couldn't have the effect that you could see the potential for, and he has just taken off this offseason and done a great job. He's a big factor for us right now. We love having him on our team."
‘We didn't know ... how special he was'
Not since Walter Jones have the Seahawks been this good, this settled at left tackle. That's saying something considering the Pro Football Hall of Famer last played in 2008.
Russell Okung had Pro Bowl talent, but the sixth overall pick in 2010 also had a hard time staying on the field, missing 24 games over his six seasons in Seattle. The Seahawks suffered through six games of shoddy play from Bradley Sowell in 2016 before turning to undrafted rookie George Fant, a college basketball player turned left tackle project who predictably struggled. Hopes were high for Fant heading into last season, but a torn ACL forced the similarly overmatched Rees Odhiambo into action and got the ball rolling on an eventual trade for Brown.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Seahawks had allowed pressure on 39.4 percent (30th in the NFL) of Wilson's dropbacks last season before the Brown trade, indicative of the poor pass protection he's suffered through for much of his career. That dropped to 23.1 percent (eighth) over the next five weeks.
Wilson, who restructured his contract to help facilitate the Brown trade, called him "a lockdown left tackle, for sure."
"Duane Brown is a difference-maker in terms of how he plays the game," Wilson said. "He's a phenomenal football player. We didn't have him last year early on in the season, but now that he's here it just shows up."
The Seahawks have a few reasons to believe their perennially challenged offensive line will be better in 2018, even though right tackle Germain Ifedi has been so shaky that he's in danger of losing his starting job. They replaced offensive line coach Tom Cable with Mike Solari, who is highly regarded throughout the league. Right guard D.J. Fluker looks like he'll be a run-blocking stud as long as his balky knee holds up while Ethan Pocic, last year's second-round pick, is a year older and about 20 pounds heavier on the other side.
The biggest difference may be having Brown healthy and in the starting lineup from the get-go.
"We didn't know at the time how special he was," Carroll said, thinking back to when Seattle acquired Brown. "We really just didn't know the guy well enough. We loved his play, we knew some stuff, we had done our homework, but then when you get him in the locker room with your guys, he's an amazing player [and] an amazing leader. He's in unbelievable shape, his strength, his power -- I mean, he's got everything going for him. The fact that he comes to us and now that he's been with us enough, that now he can assert himself as a leader, he's going to be a big factor for us."