Day 3 NFL draft begins with Seahawks taking LSU’s big Anthony Bradford for offensive line

It took three days, but the Seahawks have addressed the line of scrimmage.

Seattle used its 108th selection overall, the first of two choices it has in the fourth round, to select LSU guard Anthony Bradford in the NFL draft Saturday.

Bradford, who has also played tackle and both right and left side, is a former LSU teammate with Seahawks starting guard Damien Lewis.

Bradford said he and Lewis “chopped it up” about the possibility of being Seattle teammates.

“It happened,” Bradford said Saturday morning from his family home in Muskegon, Michigan. “I’m just going to go to work.

“I feel like I’m an aggressive player, but I’m an aggressive-smart player. I really take pride in my feet.”

Bradford took a pre-draft visit with the Seahawks in Renton, as part of the 30 such visits the league allows each team with prospects the weeks before the draft.

“Yeah, the visit went well,” he said Saturday morning from his family home in Muskegon, Michigan. “So it wasn’t a surprise, at all” the Seahawks drafted him.

“It was just the people, man. The coaches and players I got to connect with. The players there, just the whole commodity around the building.”

One of those players is Seahawks starting left guard Damien Lewis. He and Bradford were teammates on the LSU offensive line.

“Yeah, I’m geeked up to get down there with him,” Bradford said “We said if it does happen, I am going to go to work.

“It did happen, so I am going to go to work.”

The 6-foot-4, 332-pound Bradford was known as a huge “anchor” and steamrolling run blocker in the middle of LSU’s offensive line.

“Yeah, I take pride in that,” Bradford said, “just getting off the ball and put my face in people.”

The Seahawks could use some more of that from their run blockers. They released veteran guard Gabe Jackson this offseason. Jackson started the last two seasons for Seattle. Phil Haynes is on track to be the starting right guard. Now he has competition in Bradley.

This was a scouting report on Bradford from the league’s official network: “Massive, scheme-specific guard prospect with plus power but obvious athletic limitations. Bradford has functional quickness as a pulling guard and can work from one block to the next with adequate timing. He can be effective as a single blocker but really shines on double teams, where he can help clear the pathway. His lack of lateral quickness and reactive athleticism can put him in a bind against one-gapping defensive tackles and sub-package rushers with short-area twitch. Bradford has the potential to become an eventual starter for gap and power teams.”

The Seahawks chose a cornerback, wide receiver, outside linebacker, running back and guard with the first five of their 10 picks in this draft.

This story was originally published April 29, 2023 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Day 3 NFL draft begins with Seahawks taking LSU’s big Anthony Bradford for offensive line."

Gregg Bell

The News Tribune

Gregg Bell is the Seahawks and NFL writer for The News Tribune. He is a two-time Washington state sportswriter of the year, voted by the National Sports Media Association in January 2023 and January 2019. He started covering the NFL in 2002 as the Oakland Raiders beat writer for The Sacramento Bee. The Ohio native began covering the Seahawks in their first Super Bowl season of 2005. In a prior life he graduated from West Point and served as a tactical intelligence officer in the U.S. Army, so he may ask you to drop and give him 10. Support my work with a digital subscription